The posturing from Denver’s side of the table is changing by the day. When the offseason started, we kept hearing that keeping Peyton Watson was the team’s top priority, and it was assumed that they’d shed salary in a trade to do so, if necessary. But the summer has been trickling away, and the Nuggets have stood pat.
Meanwhile, the talks of a sign-and-trade have only gotten louder as the Nuggets are still facing the same salary and tax crunches they were, only now it’s worse as they’re officially in the second apron after matching the deal for Spencer Jones.
If they do re-sign P-Wat, it’s going to mean a massive tax bill that, frankly, I just believe the Kroenkes are going to pay. And the rest of the NBA doesn’t seem to think so either, as teams are circling like sharks looking to pry Watson away from Denver. First, the Nuggets were saying they wanted a Walker Kessler-like return, which would mean two first-round picks.
There was no interest there, so we heard the asking price had gone down to one first-round pick and a notable player, but still there have been no bites. Michael Scotto reported on Friday that so far, no team has actually offered the Nuggets a first for Watson, but he stated that the Hawks, Bucks, Cavaliers, and Clippers have shown interest.
Bucks taking Zeke Nnaji would be huge for Nuggets
But according to Scotto, while they haven’t offered a first, the Bucks may be willing to offer something that’s just as valuable to the Nuggets: a willingness to take back Zeke Nnaji in a Watson sign-and-trade deal. That may seem like a disappointing outcome, but the Nnaji contract has been burning a hole in Denver’s books since the moment it was signed.
There are still two years and almost $15 million remaining on the contract (including a player option for 2027-28) for a player who hasn’t been close to the rotation in years and has had negative trade value around the league. Clearing his money off the books would be extremely helpful for the Nuggets both now and in the future.
Moving Nnaji and Watson would allow the Nuggets to take back some role players from the Bucks, while staying under the second apron and keeping their starting lineup of Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, Cam Johnson, Aaron Gordon, and Nikola Jokic intact. It would definitely hurt to see Watson leave and not even get any prime draft assets back, but at the end of the day, this is a product of the situation they’ve created.Â
They have nobody to blame but themselves, and the fact that teams aren’t lining up to help them heal their own self-inflicted wound probably shouldn’t come as a big surprise. It may not be the sexiest return, but if this is the best they can do, the Nuggets should at least make sure they get rid of Nnaji and give themselves a chance for a mini reset.
Add us as a preferred source on Google