The Denver Nuggets lost one of their better defenders when they agreed to a sign-and-trade with the Cavaliers on Wednesday evening, sending Peyton Watson to Cleveland. One ripple effect of the deal will slam into Aaron Gordon, the glue that holds the team's defense together, or whatever is left of it now.
Denver already had the 21st-worst defense in the league last season. For a team supposedly trying to put itself in the best position to win another championship with Nikola Jokić, the Nuggets are essentially running it back with a worse roster after losing Watson (unless something else is coming?), which lowers their odds of reaching that height.
Even before the Watson trade, there was already a lot of pressure on Gordon. He played only 36 games last season (so, no surprise Denver's defense was abysmal) because of soft-tissue injuries, which limited him in the 2025 playoffs.
The Nuggets need him to stay healthy to have a real fighting chance, and the P-Wat trade upped AG's importance even more.
Nuggets can't afford to be without Aaron Gordon
It's no coincidence that, in the games Gordon played last season, Denver was 27-9 with a 112 defensive rating, which, if the Nuggets could've held that, would've given them a top-five defense in the league. Without AG, they went 27-19 with a 116.5 defensive rating, which is right around where they finished the season (116 defensive rating).
In a perfect world, Denver could count on Gordon playing at least 65 games next season (he did play 73 in 2023-24), but soft-tissue injuries are as concerning as they are recurring. It's not ideal to put a higher load on a player who has dealt with calf and hamstring injuries the past two seasons, especially one who will turn 31 next month.
With Watson gone, though, it's even more so. Gordon's build makes his specialty guarding opposing forwards, something P-Wat struggled with, but he can guard quicker guards, something AG isn't as good at.
Denver couldn't throw many defensive punches as is, and now, the Nuggets have even less in their arsenal. Gordon is their biggest weapon, and Christian Braun can (more like needs) have a bounce-back season to boost his value not just on the defensive end, but that's where the team needs the most help, and by a wide margin.
You've heard the saying "defense wins championships," and ideally the Nuggets will have a top-10 offense and defense next season, though in 2022-23 their defense ranked No. 15 in the league.
Since they last won, though, the West has gotten a lot stronger, and for them to have a shot to bring more hardware back to Denver, they'll need an above-average defense, at the least, and even that feels like a bit of a long shot. If Gordon can stay healthy, though, that would change things, but he can't carry that weight alone—literally and figuratively—because he needs to be as fresh as possible for the playoffs.
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