Former Denver Nuggets swingman Peyton Watson shared a heartfelt message with Nuggets fans after leaving the team in free agency.
After spending the first four seasons of his NBA career in Denver, Watson signed a four-year, $88 million deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers as part of a sign-and-trade deal involving five teams.
In return for Watson, the Nuggets received a first-round pick and a second-round pick.
While it was no doubt tough for the Nuggets to let Watson go, the reality of the NBA’s second apron made it difficult for Denver to keep him on the roster unless they were willing to go deep into the punitive second apron to do so.
Peyton Watson Shares Statement With Nuggets Fans
Now that Watson is officially on Cleveland’s roster, he shared a heartfelt statement with Nuggets fans after leaving the only fanbase that he’s ever known during his NBA career.
“Nuggets Nation and the city of Denver, Thank you for having me for the first four years of my career. As a young NBA player, who was a bit naive and hadn’t seen much of the real world, you guys took care of me better than I could have ever imagined. Thanks for that. Playing this game every night on the national stage is difficult on both the body and the mind, but the love from the fans always makes it so worthwhile. I will miss seeing you all at Ball Arena. A few special thank yous: Calvin Booth for believing in me out of UCLA. The Kroenke family. Coach Malone, Coach Adelman and the rest of the staff. All of my teammates for helping to raise me up. AG for being my big brother. DJ for keeping me in check. Joker and Jamal for all the assists on and off the floor. KCP for throwing my 21st birthday party. MPJ for all the late night workouts and dinners. But again, most of all, thank you to the fans. Playing in front of you has been a dream come true. I’ll see you all soon.P-Wat,” Watson wrote on his Instagram.
Nuggets Have Moved On
Now that Watson is a member of the Cavaliers’ roster, the Nuggets have already moved on, as the team has signed DeMar DeRozan to a one-year, $3.9 million veteran’s minimum contract to fill in for Watson’s minutes next season.
Though DeRozan is 37 years old, he is still a quality player and one who can still get a bucket when the team needs it. He is also much cheaper than Watson, whose contract starts at $20.5 million next season, while DeRozan comes in at just $3.9 million.
With the Nuggets the only NBA team currently over the second apron, every dollar counts, so had they kept Watson on the team’s roster, they would have been paying tens of millions more in luxury tax penalties. Now that he’s gone and replaced with DeRozan, the team is only a few million over the second apron and can potentially even get under it if they trade someone like veteran Zeke Nnaji in a salary dump.
Peyton Watson Shares Heartfelt Message to Nuggets Fans