Keeping Aaron Gordon fresh has to be one of the Denver Nuggets’ biggest priorities this season.
When Gordon is on the floor and healthy, he changes the whole feel of the team. He’s the glue guy, the guy who makes the Nuggets click.
Late last year, before the playoffs, Cameron Johnson even called him the "aura curator." Gordon’s response fit him perfectly: he said he"brings the vibes."
That’s exactly the kind of presence Denver needs to preserve.
The importance of that showed up in the Nuggets’ late-season thriller against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs. In the clutch, Gordon locked Wemby down on defense and once again made the case that he’s Denver’s best defender. That’s the version of Gordon the Nuggets need to protect.
The cleanest way to do that is through load management wherever the schedule allows it. Denver obviously can’t just park him until April.
He still needs to stay in game shape and rhythm. But the team can look for rest on either side of back-to-backs, and there are 14 chances to do that in the 2026-27 season.
That could get Gordon down to 68 games, which is the same total he last reached in 2023-24, when he appeared in 73 games.
There’s also the league-side wrinkle. Gordon isn’t considered a "star player" under the NBA’s rules, so he can be rested, but the Nuggets still have to navigate the league’s stipulations carefully to avoid fines or penalties if he sits.
The good news is that Denver has a little more cover behind him this year than it has in the past. Gordon has dealt with soft tissue injuries, with hamstring and calf issues costing him 77 games over the last two seasons.
But the Nuggets added Marvin Bagley III in free agency, and he can back up Nikola Jokic at center or Gordon at power forward. Spencer Jones, now another year into his development and armed with a shiny new contract, is another possible fill-in.
Even with that depth, the larger point doesn’t change: Gordon is more valuable in April than February. The Nuggets need him available when it matters most, and the best way to get there is to manage his workload before the grind catches up with him.
In Other News...
Nuggets And Peyton Watson Are Drifting Toward A Tough Roster Call
Peyton Watsons restricted free agency has settled into the sort of stand-off the Nuggets were hoping to avoid. Denver has put a four-year, $70 million proposal on the table with a team option in the final season, but the talks have not moved much beyond that point as the sides work through value and role in a tighter financial picture for the franchise.
Watsons camp is believed to be targeting a higher annual number, and that gap has left sign-and-trade possibilities in play if a deal cannot be bridged. Cleveland, Milwaukee and the Clippers have all been floated as possible landing spots, while the Nuggets also have to weigh the risk of Watson simply playing on his qualifying offer if the market never gives either side a clean exit. [Read more 🡒]
Peyton Watson Has Become A Real Nuggets Flashpoint This Summer
Peyton Watson has gone from promising young piece to summer conversation starter for the Nuggets, and the reason is simple enough: Denver wants to keep him, but the business of restricted free agency has turned the situation into a real test of how much both sides can live with. The Nuggets are working through contract talks with a player whose growth has made him part of the franchises longer-term plans, even as the team continues to navigate the kind of financial pressures that come with building around a contending core.
The wrinkle is that this has not stayed a Denver-only issue. Interest has surfaced from several teams around the league, with the Clippers, Hawks, Bucks and Cavaliers among those linked to a possible sign-and-trade path, which only adds more moving parts to an already delicate negotiation. For now, Watsons future remains unsettled, with the qualifying offer still on the table and the possibility of a longer agreement hanging over the rest of the offseason as training camp gets closer. [Read more 🡒]
Peyton Watson Just Put The Nuggets In A Tough Offseason Spot
Denvers offseason has already been boxed in by the hard realities of the second apron, and the front office is operating with almost no margin for error. The Nuggets have made only one signing so far, and with a projected luxury tax bill hanging over everything, keeping young talent in place has become harder than usual, especially when the player in question has real league-wide value.
Peyton Watson is now the clearest example of that squeeze. Denver would like to keep the restricted free agent picture from getting messier, but his market has started to form beyond Colorado, with sign-and-trade chatter beginning to frame the next step. For the Nuggets, the challenge is not just finding a path to hold onto him, but navigating an offseason where every move has to fit both the cap sheet and whatever return another team is willing to put on the table. [Read more 🡒]