Everything in the NBA world has taken a backseat to the news of the all-time blockbuster trade that landed Luka Doncic on the Los Angeles Lakers. Things almost seemed to pause while people tried to gather themselves and process how the entire league had just been flipped upside down.
The Nuggets find themselves in a position similar to many others teams. They are figuring out what the landscape of the Western Conference now looks like around them, and deciding how to move forward.
The Mavs now have another behemoth down low in Anthony Davis, Wembanyama has a sidekick in De’Aaron Fox, Zach LaVine is heading to the Kings, and the Lakers have Luka freaking Doncic. That’s a lot of change for one conference within a matter of hours and we still have three more days until the trade deadline.
The Nuggets need to figure out there next move, and they need to do it quickly. Does Calvin Booth think the current roster is good enough to compete for a title? And if not, is there a move to be made that can offer the necessary talent upgrade?
Peyton Watson to miss at least 4 weeks with knee sprain
That decision-making process got even more difficult on Monday as the Nuggets received a brutal injury update. One of Denver’s best young defenders, Peyton Watson suffered a knee sprain in Friday’s game at Philadelphia and he will be re-evaluated in four weeks.
Denver Nuggets forward Peyton Watson suffered a right knee sprain at the Philadelphia 76ers on January 31st and will be re-evaluated in four weeks, team says. Watson has averaged 8.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 24.1 minutes this season. pic.twitter.com/CO5d28DahV
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) February 3, 2025
This is a devastating blow for the Nuggets; Watson has been the face of a younger, more athletic generation of players. He has excelled on defense, given the team energy and transition, and been a key component to a very thin bench.
But Watson is still an inconsistent player, especially on offense. He has a lot to improve upon and he still has some leaps to make if he wants to fully earn Michael Malone’s trust ahead of what Denver hopes will be a long playoff run.
A crushing injury at the worst possible time
This injury hurts the Nuggets in a plethora of ways. For one, the team will be missing a key player for at least a month as they try to solidify playoff seeding in a loaded conference. Furthermore, they lose a key chunk of time that could have been crucial to Watson’s development, getting him ready for the playoffs, and stabilizing the team’s rotations.
On top of that, the Nuggets must now make all of their trade deadline decisions with this injury hanging over them. Hopefully, Watson will be fully recovered when he’s re-evaluated in four weeks, but that’s no guarantee. The mystery around his future status for the rest of this season throws a major wrench into the plans.