What Denver Nuggets fans are waiting for is whether or not Peyton Watson will be back in the Mile High City for the 2026-27 season. The majority seem to hope that he will be, on a multi-year deal (not his $6.5 million qualifying offer, and if that happens, it could mean the end of the road for another player, as Marc Stein said Monday on the DNVR Sports podcast.
"If they keep Watson, they're going to be a second-apron team, or they're going to make another unpopular move to shed salary unless there's a way to trade Zeke Nnaji somewhere and attach draft capital to him."
Because of the restrictions that come with being a team in the second-tax apron, it's not a desirable spot for any team. You can assume that the Kroenkes don't want to be in that spot, either. As Stein said, re-signing Watson would put them there, but the Nuggets could get out of it with a trade.
No one, not even Stein, knows how this all will play out. He thinks that if Denver retains Watson, an "unpopular" trade will follow. He didn't specifically say who would be on the way out (because again, who knows?!), but Aaron Gordon's name did come up. The insider said interest in the forward has quieted down since the beginning of the offseason, though that doesn't mean a trade won't happen.
Will Nuggets trade Aaron Gordon? Cam Johnson? Someone else?
After Denver's season ended in the first round of the 2026 playoffs, Josh Kroenke said that "everything" was on the table for the Nuggets, outside of trading Nikola Jokić. It was a heads-up for fans to prepare for the notification that AG, or maybe even Jamal Murray, had been traded.
It's been over two months since then, but that doesn't mean a notification like that won't come between now and the start of the season.
You might be leaning toward a Nnaji trade, as that'd mean moving off the $7.5 million he'll make this season, along with his $7.5 million player option for 2027-28. That wouldn't get Denver out of the second apron, though it'd help. Anyway, as Stein said, that'd most likely require draft capital, which the Nuggets aren't exactly swimming in.
What most of you probably don't want to happen is a Gordon trade, though that would help Denver financially, as he's still under contract for three more seasons (including his $37 million player option in 2028-29).
If there was ever an unpopular move to make, it's trading Gordon. It's not just because of what he's meant to the organization and city since he arrived in 2021, though that's a large part of it. It wouldn't be easy losing a core member from the 2023 title, especially one that could help Denver win another.
Unfortunately, the injuries he's dealt with over the past couple of seasons are concerning and, paired with his contract, could keep suitors away. Still, there could be a team (or a few) out there that could talk themselves into trading for AG. When healthy, he's a two-way force.
As HoopsHype's Michael Scotto reported in late July, Denver "rebuffed" calls from opposing teams hoping that the Nuggets would "dump" Cam Johnson's contract. He has only one more year left on his current deal and will make $23 million next season (less than Gordon's $32 million). Now, that doesn't mean they won't trade him to dodge the second apron, but it does give a clearer indication as to how they feel.
Whether Watson stays or goes, either move will probably result in some level of pain that, as Stein said, the DNVR crew wouldn't like, which also extends to Nuggets fans everywhere. That is, unless the Kroenkes decided to pay the luxury tax and deal with the second apron consequences, but we all know the likelihood of that happening.
Because of the time that has already passed this offseason, you might've thought you were safe from dealing with the goodbye that'd come as a result of an unpopular trade. Well, hopefully you didn't get too comfortable, as one could still be in the cards.
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