The Milwaukee Bucks are aggressively trying to rebuild after trading franchise cornerstone Giannis Antetokounmpo, which could lead them to another champion, Peyton Watson.
Notably, it was Antetokounmpo’s new team, the Miami Heat, who lost to Watson’s Denver Nuggets in the 2023 NBA Finals, leading the latter to its first championship in the franchise’s then 56-year history.
Now, in a full-circle moment, Watson could ostensibly replace Antetoknoumpo in Milwaukee.
Stein: Bucks Interested in Sign-&-Trade for Nuggest’ Peyton Watson
GettyPeyton Watson has landed on the Milwaukee Bucks’ trade radar.
Watson turns 24 in September. He was the 30th overall pick of the 2022 draft, playing a bit role on that Nuggets’ championship team. Watson scored 8 points in just over three minutes during his lone appearance against the Bucks that regular season.
He is one of two restricted free agents for the Nuggets, joining fellow wing Spencer Jones.
The Stein Line’s Marc Stein revealed that the Bucks are interested in Watson, but they face some competition.
“Some fresh rumbles have been relayed to The Stein Line that the Bucks are joining the Clippers and Hawks on the list of teams trying to pry Watson away from the Nuggets via sign-and-trade,” Stein wrote on July 14.
Watson averaged a career-best 14.6 points during the 2025-26 season.
He also set new personal best marks in minutes per game and starts, with 40. However, his 54 appearances were the second-fewest of his career ahead of only his rookie campaign.
Bucks Could Slot Trade Pickup Into More Appropriate Role
GettyA potential sign-and-trade for Peyton Watson could have significant implications for Jaime Jaquez.
The Bucks’ reasons for targeting the 6-foot-7 Watson are likely manifold, including his steadily improving production and championship experience. Fittingly, acquiring Watson could shift Jaime Jaquez to the bench.
That would be a more appropriate role for the former Heat swingman, who entered the league as the 18th overall pick one year after Watson and the Nuggets hoisted the Larry O’Brien.
Jaquez, 25, averaged 15.4 PPG and appeared in 75 games during the 2025-26 regular season.
However, he started just one of those contests and has seen his opportunities as a starter diminish in back-to-back seasons after opening 20 games for the Heat as a rookie. Still, Jaquez averaged more minutes per game in 2025-26 than he did in 2024-25 when he logged 17 starts.
For his career, Jaquez has averaged a 14.2-5.3-3.1 line as a starter, compared to 15.0-4.8-1.9 for Watson.
However, Jaquez has also been a more effective scorer off the bench than Watson.
Bucks Get Future-Focused Outlook Amid Uncertainty
GettyKel’el Ware is one of several intriguing new players for the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Bucks are not expected to be contenders this season. That makes a significant investment in Watson a potentially interesting endeavor. SB Nation’s Ricky O’Donnell listed the Bucks 30th in his “way-too-early power rankings.”
O’Donnell opened with “the Giannis era is over.”
“The Bucks are left with a funky roster that will probably be pretty bad,” O’Donnell wrote on July 10. “Will Tyler Herro actually play for Milwaukee this season, or get flipped closer to training camp? Ryan Rollins and Kevin Porter Jr. actually looked pretty good last season, and Kel’el Ware is an exciting young big man coming over from Miami in the big trade.”
O’Donnell believes that “most of the attention will be on how the Bucks’ two lottery picks Brayden Burries and Nate Ament develop.
That just further clouds the Bucks’ plans for the current roster, let alone what they might have in mind for Watson. That is, if they are successful in goading the Nuggets into a sign-and-trade that yields Watson for Milwaukee.
Bucks Eyeing Sign-&-Trade for 6-Foot-7 NBA Champion