Peyton Watson makes painfully obvious decision Nuggets fans knew was coming

On Thursday, Klutch Sports Group welcomed Peyton Watson to the team. After Watson and the Denver Nuggets didn't come to terms on an extension before the regular season started, the 23-year-old will hit unrestricted free agency next summer. He's already preparing for that by changing representation, after previously being with Excel Sports.

Denver signed Christian Braun to a five-year, $125 million extension. Due to the team's financial situation, everyone knew that either Braun or Watson would re-sign, but not both. The Nuggets prioritized Braun, who was coming off a breakout season in which he was in the conversation for the Most Improved Player award.

One would think that if the Nuggets didn't have to worry about the second tax apron, they would've extended Watson, but that's life under the collective bargaining agreement. Ben Tenzer said at media day that he hoped Watson and Braun would be in Denver "for a long time," and while Watson could always re-sign with the Nuggets next offseason, that's not a likely scenario.

Watson told the Denver Post that based on his understanding, the Nuggets' not extending him "was just a financial business decision." He said that he'll make his own business decision next summer. He took a step toward doing so by joining Klutch, which represents several NBA players, with LeBron James being the most prominent client.

Peyton Watson joins Klutch Sports after not signing extension with Nuggets

This could end up being Watson's final season in Denver, but it's still too early to think about what may or may not happen next offseason. Talk about his future should start to ramp up in a couple of months.

Since Watson joined the Nuggets in the 2022 draft, he has progressed each season, averaging a career-high 8.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.4 blocks per game last season, shooting 47.7% from the field and 35.3% from three in 24.4 minutes across 68 contests (18 starts).

So far this season, he's averaging 6.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game in 21.1 minutes through 11 contests. Besides his free-throw percentage, 76.2 (up from 69.3%), Watson's shooting numbers are down from what they were last season.

He did finish with 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field to go with seven rebounds, three steals, and one assist in a season-high 27 minutes as a starter last Saturday in Denver's 117-100 win over Indiana, with Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon sidelined. It gave fans yet another glimpse into the kind of player that he can be.

When it comes to Watson's future, all fans can hope for at this point is that his defense will come up big for Denver off the bench in a second championship run. What happens after that, well, you might not like that part.