The early returns on the Peyton Watson trade are tilting Denver’s way, and it’s happening on two fronts.
The Nuggets were staring at a choice that would have gotten expensive fast: keep Watson, lose Cameron Johnson, and then likely pay Watson a major deal. Instead, Denver sent Watson to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and right now the Nuggets look like the side that got the better end of it. Johnson and Watson are sitting at opposite poles offensively to open the season, and that gap is hard to ignore.
Watson’s start in Cleveland has been rough. In 11 games, he’s shooting 21.3% from beyond the arc, a brutal number that has Cavaliers fans waiting for something to click.
He also hasn’t looked the same away from Nikola Jokic, which matters because his numbers in Denver last year were much stronger. Watson shot 41.1% from three in the Nuggets’ offense a season ago, but the slump goes deeper than the perimeter shot.
He’s also down to 46.5% on twos, well below last year’s 53.1%.
Denver, meanwhile, made the cleaner basketball decision by keeping Johnson and adding value on top of it. The Nuggets held onto Johnson for this season and picked up Cleveland’s 2031 first-round pick, along with a future second-rounder. That’s a strong return, especially when you factor in the cost of Watson’s new deal with Cleveland: four years, $88 million.
Johnson has already justified the move in the role Denver needs him to play. The Nuggets’ three-point shooting has dipped this season, falling from last year’s league-best 39.6% to 35.4%, which ranks 14th.
Johnson hasn’t been part of the problem. He’s hitting 43.2% from deep and averaging 5.3 attempts per game, though Denver could use even more of that shot volume.
His movement without the ball creates space, and his quick catch-and-fire release gives the offense a clean look when defenses collapse. He’s also been efficient inside the arc, shooting 59.3% on twos.
Watson may have the edge defensively, but Johnson isn’t exactly a weak link on that end. He’s been one of Denver’s steadier defenders.
There’s also the long game. The Nuggets are already projecting $190 million in salary commitments for 2027-28 with only seven players under contract for that season.
Avoiding Watson’s money keeps Denver from taking on another hefty financial commitment, especially after the lessons of the Zeke Nnaji and Christian Braun extensions. Without that extra $22 million or so on the books, the Nuggets can begin the year under both the first and second aprons, which gives them far more room to build out the roster than they had this season.
It’s still a small sample, but when Denver needed shooting this year and flexibility next year, the trade is breaking in the Nuggets’ favor.
In Other News...
Nuggets Have A Grizzlies Trade Idea Fans Will Want To Debate
The Nuggets are always looking for ways to sharpen the edges of a roster built around Nikola Jokic, and a new trade concept does exactly that by targeting two familiar problem areas at once: bench shooting and cap flexibility. The idea would bring in a pair of young Grizzlies guards, with one offering immediate value as a perimeter threat and the other giving Denver a possible answer at backup point guard.
For a team that has had to squeeze every bit of production out of the edges of its rotation, the appeal is easy to see. The proposal also comes with a financial angle that matters in Denver, since moving off Zeke Nnaji and attaching future draft capital would be part of the cost of making the numbers work. It is the kind of speculative deal that will split opinion, because the Nuggets would be betting on fit and function rather than proven impact. [Read more 🡒]
Jamal Murray Is Rolling As Nuggets Keep Juggling The Back End
Jamal Murray has been doing his part to steady Denver while the Nuggets continue sorting out the back end of the roster. The guards recent play has drawn attention around the league, and with the team still managing depth decisions, the focus in Denver has stayed on keeping the rotation balanced and the supporting pieces ready when called upon.
That backdrop got a little busier when three Nuggets were sent to the G League, another reminder that the team is still juggling personnel even as Murray keeps rolling. For a club trying to stay sharp through the grind, the challenge is less about one hot stretch than finding enough consistency behind it, and that makes every move on the margins worth watching. [Read more 🡒]
Jamal Murray Is Carrying The Nuggets Into An Uncomfortable Debate
Jamal Murray has opened the season looking like the kind of guard Denver has always hoped he could be, and the numbers back it up. Through the first 10 games, he has averaged 26.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.9 assists while shooting 50.9% from the field and 51.3% from three-point range, a surge that has drawn praise from Michael Malone for the way Murray has impacted both ends of the floor.
The uncomfortable part for the Nuggets is that this kind of start is usually supposed to lift a team into a better place than 6-4. Instead, Murrays level of play has only sharpened the reminder that Denver still needs more help around him if it wants to separate itself from the pack this season. He has done the heavy lifting so far, but the bigger question is whether enough of the roster can rise with him. [Read more 🡒]