Nikola Jokic has rarely been one for dramatic public reactions, and the Denver Nuggets star wasn’t about to start after losing one of his most important young teammates.
Jokic offered his first public comments Thursday on Denver’s decision to send Peyton Watson to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a sign-and-trade, expressing happiness for Watson while acknowledging what the Nuggets are losing.
“I’m happy for Peyton, he deserved it,” Jokic told Serbian reporter Miroslav Ćuk. “We will miss his energy and skill.”
Asked about his expectations for Denver next season following Watson’s departure, Jokic wasn’t ready to look that far ahead.
“I don’t think about season yet, we have to play this, but it’s gonna be OK,” he said.
The response was characteristically Jokic: supportive of Watson, restrained about Denver’s decision and unwilling to turn an August transaction into a referendum on the Nuggets’ championship chances.
But Watson’s departure is difficult to separate from the financial decisions Denver has made around Jokic.
Nuggets Feeling Second Apron Heat
Watson’s departure was not a move designed to keep Denver from crossing the NBA’s second apron.
The Nuggets had already crossed it.
Denver matched the Oklahoma City Thunder’s two-year, $12 million offer sheet for restricted free agent Spencer Jones in July, a decision that increased its projected luxury-tax bill by approximately $32 million to $68 million and pushed the Nuggets into the second apron.
That made Watson’s restricted free agency considerably more complicated.
Keeping Watson at Cleveland’s price would have added another $22 million annually and pushed their luxury tax bill to over $220 million.
Instead, Denver worked out a sign-and-trade that sent Watson to Cleveland on a four-year, $88 million contract with a player option and trade kicker. The Nuggets received Cleveland’s unprotected 2031 first-round pick and a 2032 second-rounder from Sacramento.
Watson leaves after a breakout season in which he averaged 14.6 points in 54 games, including 40 starts.
Jokic’s description of what Denver will miss — Watson’s “energy and skill” — neatly summarized why the financial decision hurts on the basketball side.
Nikola Jokic Extension Adds Another Layer
Every significant Nuggets roster decision also carries additional weight because of Jokic’s contract situation.
The three-time MVP elected this summer to postpone signing an extension for the second consecutive offseason. Jokic could have agreed to a four-year deal worth approximately $278 million, but waiting until 2027 could make him eligible for five years and approximately $359.5 million.
Jokic has made clear, however, that the decision is about business rather than an escape route from Denver.
“My idea is to sign next summer and stay with Denver for the rest of my career,” Jokić said in July.
There is no indication his extension decision is connected to Watson’s departure. But the circumstances raise the stakes for a Denver front office trying to navigate two competing realities: controlling the enormous costs of a second-apron roster while maximizing the championship window of the best player in franchise history.
The Nuggets now must determine how to replace Watson.
Denver has been linked to six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan following the trade, while ClutchPoints NBA insider Brett Siegel has floated Jonathan Kuminga as a potential prove-it option if his market falls to the veteran minimum.
Jokic, for his part, isn’t sounding an alarm.
He congratulated Watson. He acknowledged what Denver lost. And with another season alongside Jokic carrying increasingly precious value, he offered a calming assessment of what comes next.
“It’s gonna be OK.”
Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic Sends Strong Message After Peyton Watson Trade