The Peyton Watson sign-and-trade to the Cleveland Cavaliers didn't just net the Denver Nuggets a couple of future draft picks. It was a five-team trade that also sent the Nuggets an exciting two-way contract player from the Washington Wizards, Julian Reese. But the Nuggets inexplicably waived him as soon as he was acquired, and they may have made a costly mistake in judgment for no particular reason at all.
At least that's how it feels on the surface without the Nuggets adding any further explanation. Reese could have stayed with the Nuggets, and they had no reason to waive him unless they truly have some larger plan for their last two open two-way spots. And based on the small sample size from Reese, this seems like a big error at the moment.
Reese would have made a ton of sense as depth for the Nuggets
Reese, a 6-foot-9 power forward rookie, was signed by the Wizards to a two-way contract in February, and he made 10 starts over 13 appearances to finish out the season. That's his entire NBA sample. Yes, it's small, but Reese averaged a double-double in 30.9 minutes per game, scoring 11.8 points and adding 10.5 rebounds, including one game with 20!
Peyton Watson just got a $22 million average annual value on his four-year contract, largely based on his production in 15 games last January while Nikola Jokic was out for the Nuggets. He was rewarded on hype and potential to keep up that pace. Well, Reese had a game of 26 points and 17 rebounds, and he shot 12-for-16 from the floor. That's potential, too.
So what exactly did Reese do so wrong that the Nuggets would waive him when he was already under contract as a two-way player? They had the open spots. The Nuggets would have still had one more spot to add Bryce Hopkins, the Nuggets' 49th overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Reese was better in 13 games than Zeke Nnaji in six years
Reese had better games in his first month than Zeke Nnaji has had in six years as a Nugget! Nnaji's career highs are 21 points and 12 rebounds. Reese could have easily been more depth than Nnaji this year. But we'll never know just how well that could have worked out, unfortunately.
It really just doesn't make any sense at all. If the Nuggets hadn't had the open two-way slot, then I could understand the waiver. But they did. And by all accounts, Reese can play. You don't luck into those kinds of numbers, or Nnaji would have done that at least once over his six seasons.
Nuggets fans deserve an explanation from the front office for this head-scratching decision.
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