We still don't know who Peyton Watson will be in Cleveland, like whether he'll look like the player he was for the Denver Nuggets in January. Still, the pain of losing him in last month's trade is lingering, even more so since the team didn't get a player back in return, though that would've complicated their finances even more.
What they did get was an unprotected 2031 first-round pick and a 2032 second-round pick. As Bennett Durando of The Denver Post wrote on Monday, the expectation is that the first-round pick will be long gone (subscription required) by the time 2031 rolls around, with the Nuggets planning to use it in a trade.
After feeling out the market, they viewed Cleveland’s first-round pick as a more valuable asset than any player available to them, team sources told The Denver Post.
You might be wondering who the Nuggets will use that pick on, and when it'll happen. Those questions won't be answered until before the trade deadline, at the earliest, depending on Denver's position (both in the standings and financially) and which players are available.
If the Nuggets play their cards right, the Watson trade may not look as bad as it does right now.
Nuggets want to use 2031 pick from Cavs in a trade
Denver can still emerge as the early winner in the Watson trade if he gets off to a slow start in Cleveland, even without cashing in on what it received in return, making the Nuggets look better for not paying him. It will be a while before you can declare an actual winner of the deal, though.
The Nuggets look so bad right now because they're still in win-now mode with Nikola Jokić, as they should be, and losing a homegrown talent like Watson weakens the roster that they entered the offseason with. It's not an ideal spot to be in, with the start of the season around the corner.
In this case, all fans can do is trust the process and hope that Denver can escape the negative spotlight it found itself in for trading Watson, rather than going deeper into the second tax apron and increasing its luxury tax bill by paying him. The Nuggets may not have a set plan, since they don't know what the trade market will look like, but they should at least have their eyes on a few players.
First, Denver will need to trim its salary to get out of the second apron, a territory it's over $3 million above, so its final roster spot will likely remain empty for now. There will be some maneuvering before the Nuggets send their pick from the Cavaliers back out the door, but when that time comes, the Watson trade could be viewed in a different light.
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