The Nuggets are playing hardball with Peyton Watson. This is the nature of restricted free agency. I get it. But at the same time, what is their endgame? Do they actually want to keep Watson and have him be a part of the team’s core going forward? That’s what we were led to believe, and that seems like a smart decision, but if that’s the case, they’re going about it all wrong.
They’ve made at least one insulting contract offer and haven’t been interested in any sign-and-trade offers either thus far. It doesn’t seem like the two sides are close, and we’ve even heard some whispers that Watson may sign the qualifying offer, which would keep him in Denver next year before he’d become an unrestricted free agent.
And sure, that would save the Nuggets some money for this season, but not in a meaningful way. As of this moment, they are in the second apron. Even if they sign Watson to the lowly qualifying offer of $6.5 million, they’re still going to field a massive tax bill, and they’ll be restricted by the second apron. It would be a short-term fix that wouldn’t really even fix anything and would almost certainly lead to Watson’s departure in a year for nothing in return.
Even with a cheap Watson deal, Nuggets need to shed salary elsewhere
Realistically, even if the Nuggets retain Watson on the lowest possible salary for next season, they are still going to have to make a trade to shed money in order to stay under the second apron and have a somewhat manageable tax bill. So, why are they risking ruining the relationship with Watson?
Just come to the table and meet in the middle on a number that won’t cripple the Nuggets and won’t disenfranchise P-Wat. Make him happy enough that he’s motivated to earn that money and prove he’s a franchise-building block.
And if that’s not the case, then they need to get serious about trading him and making sure they don’t get taken to the cleaners in a sign-and-trade. But what they’re doing right now, which appears to be sitting back and waiting for things to work out, is not going to end well.
Tough decisions are going to have to be made at some point, and the sooner they start making them, the better. Unless the owners truly decide to foot a giant bill and pay whatever it takes to keep this team together, someone has to go. And if they were willing to do that, why not just get the deal done and get ready for the season?
Add us as a preferred source on Google