The Denver Nuggets are already pushed up to the NBA's second apron tax threshold without signing Peyton Watson to an extension, and it appears most teams are using that threshold as a hard cap, and working to stay under it. That's why every million matters, and it's possible that Tari Eason's new contract with the Houston Rockets could have set a lower bar for the Nuggets to bring back Watson, which would be a huge favor in the long run.
ESPN's Shams Charania put out the news that Eason had signed a five-year, $81.5 million, fully guaranteed deal to return to Houston. That's a $16.3 million-per-year average contract, and a great deal for the Rockets. Eason is a defensive-minded big wing who has a 1.3 steals per game average over his four-year NBA career. He's a really good rebounder, averaging 6.3 per game for his career, and he scores 10.4 points per game. Solid numbers.
The rumors for Watson are anywhere from $18 million on the low side, up to $35 million per year on the high side. And it's not like Watson put up great numbers in the past. In fact, Eason's been the better player by the numbers compared to Watson over the four years of their careers.
The Nuggets need Watson to get paid for what he has done, not upside
Watson's numbers have been steadily improving thanks to more playing time over his four years in Denver, and he averaged 14.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per game last season. But the only reason we're talking about Watson getting a large contract is because of his play over one hot month of January in the Nikola Jokic-less Nuggets offense.
Someone had to take on an additional scoring and leading role over those 16 games, which also included games missed by Christian Braun and Cameron Johnson, and a limited Aaron Gordon. Watson was already in the starting lineup because of their injuries, and took the chance and ran with it. And run with it he did indeed.
Watson averaged 21.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.5 blocks in 15 starts on the month. Yes, upside. But again, the Nuggets needed someone to step up. Jalen Pickett even saw 26 minutes per game for the month, and the Nuggets just declined his team option. Everyone was needed.
Sure, the upside is great, but the Nuggets can't get stuck with another huge contract that might not pan out, like the one they extended to Braun last year for five years, $125 million. That's why there is hope that Eason's deal just lowered the bar for the Nuggets. Every million counts, and the lower the Nuggets can bring back Watson for, the better.
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