The Denver Nuggets held their end-of-the-year press conference, and in doing so, they gave a bit of a map out of their plans for the upcoming offseason. One of those plans involves Peyton Watson, and it sounds like the Nuggets, obviously, really want to bring him back, but they stopped short of saying they'll match any offer from any other team. Which fans would have loved to hear.
Watson will be a restricted free agent this summer, and he's going to be courted by many teams, and he's likely going to carry a hefty price tag to match. Team president Josh Kroenke said all options are on the table for the Nuggets, including breaking NBA tax thresholds.
That means they could spend a significant amount to keep P-Wat and figure out the rest later. At least that's the hope after hearing that the Nuggets want to keep P-Wat around for a while and that they're looking to hang on to homegrown talent.
The Nuggets missed athleticism and Watson against the Timberwolves
One of the things head coach David Adelman said the Nuggets missed in the Timberwolves series was athleticism, and Watson would certainly have helped with that. He's a stretch wing defender with speed, and he may have been able to get in front of the Wolves guards, like Ayo Dosunmu, who blew past the Nuggets into the paint at will. Watson missed every game in the series due to a hamstring injury.
Nikola Jokic wasn't able to get over fast enough to protect the rim, and he shouldn't have had to be in that situation in the first place. But the Nuggets guards and wings all struggled to get a body in front of anyone, and they missed the physicality that Watson could have also helped with on the perimeter.
Peyton Watson had a breakout season
Peyton Watson took another step this season, and he had a career year. Watson averaged 14.6 points and 4.9 rebounds, but it was his play during January, while Jokic was out with an injury of his own, that he really took the leap.
Watson averaged 21.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game for the month, spanning 15 games. Watson even won a Player of the Week Award during the month, and he helped lead the Jokerless Nuggets to a 9-6 record for the month.
Watson was a key cog in the wheel the Nuggets were missing against the Timberwolves, and if they're going to run it back, Nuggets fans hope Watson can be part of the plan.
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