When the Denver Nuggets traded away Peyton Watson to the Cleveland Cavaliers rather than pay the budding star the salary he wanted, they were criticized. "How will the Nuggets plug the hole left by Watson?" many probably said. Well, the Nuggets plugged it. It may not be with one player, but they've plugged it. And there should be no looking back. The Nuggets received what they wanted in return for Watson, and they'll come out the other side looking better this season because of it.
The Nuggets picked up a badly needed, tradeable 2031 first-round pick from the Cavs for Watson, plus a second-round pick. And because the Cavs dropped Cam Whitmore, who was part of the five-team trade, they scooped him up too.
But Ben Golliver of ESPN just put out a list of each team's biggest roster hole, and of course, he identified Watson as the hole. That's fair. Watson was the biggest loss of the offseason. But the Nuggets have actually replaced Watson, albeit with a couple of pieces that fit together well, and not with just one player. But they've replaced him.
The Nuggets will replace Watson in multiple ways
Watson was a highly touted defensive player. But if you've watched the first two preseason games, you'd have seen that his defensive replacement, Alpha Diallo, is as good as advertised so far. Diallo, described as a "menace" by his teammate Cameron Johnson early in training camp, has been a delight to watch. He's definitely got the potential to be a game changer for the Nuggets, especially when they need some critical stops at the end of games.
Offensively, DeMar DeRozan will score points off the bench. DeRozan, even at 37 years old, can still get buckets, and he'll have every opportunity as the sixth man. Next to him is the breakout candidate, Julian Strawther, whose three-point shot and driving are every bit as good as Watson's. Strawther shot 38.7% from beyond the arc last year, and he's looked great in the first two preseason games.
Is it ideal to have multiple players fill the void left by Watson? Of course not! But there was no way the Nuggets were going to pay a luxury tax bill that would have been in the hundreds of millions just to keep Watson and run it back. The front office got a trade chip, thought outside the box, found replacements, and is in striking distance of getting back under the second apron luxury tax penalty threshold.
Honestly, it's better than hoping the team didn't just sign a largely unproven Watson to a contract that could have ended up untradable. Even if a few players with special skill sets plug the hole.
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