The Nuggets spent the offseason exploring their options, and Cameron Johnson was right in the middle of the conversation.
Denver eventually moved Peyton Watson to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a sign-and-trade that brought back a future first-round pick and a second-round pick, but that wasn’t the only path the team considered. Johnson, the 30-year-old wing on an expiring $23.1 million contract, looked like the cleanest way for the Nuggets to trim salary, keep Watson, and stay out of the second apron.
That plan ran into a simple problem: the rest of the league knew it too.
According to The Denver Post’s Bennett Durando, rival teams tried to squeeze Denver by asking for draft compensation in any deal involving Johnson. “Rival teams eyed Denver’s cap sheet and tried to take advantage of it.
Hoping the Nuggets were desperate to avoid the second apron, those teams asked Denver to give up draft picks along with Johnson, multiple sources said,” Durando reported. “… It was a matter of leverage and opportunism.
The Nuggets rebuffed any such efforts.”
That’s the kind of market that can freeze a team in place. Johnson’s numbers made him a strong trade piece on paper - 12.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per game last season, plus a 43% mark from three - but Denver’s financial pressure gave other teams room to push for more. The Nuggets were trying to protect their flexibility, and that made finding a fair deal harder than it should have been.
Still, the organization apparently did have at least one serious offer on the table. Durando reported, “They also received at least one legitimately good offer for the 30-year-old wing, according to a league source.
They still turned it down, viewing Johnson as an impactful starter.” He added, “… After feeling out the market, the Nuggets decided they preferred Johnson’s expiring salary, Spencer Jones’ cheaper extension, and an unprotected first-rounder rather than what they would have had to sacrifice for a long-term relationship with Watson.”
With Watson out of the picture, Johnson’s place in Denver looks secure. The Nuggets clearly see him as more than a cap figure; they view him as a starter who fits cleanly alongside Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, Aaron Gordon, and Nikola Jokic.
That group is one of the strongest starting fives in the league, and Johnson’s role in it matters. If he gives Denver the same blend he brought last season - perimeter shooting, solid defense, and secondary handling - the Nuggets should be in good shape.
For now, the message out of Denver is straightforward. Johnson is staying put, and the team is treating him like part of the plan. As Durando wrote, “Anything can change in the NBA overnight, but as of now, Johnson is fully part of the team’s plan for the 2026-27 season, sources told The Post.”
In Other News...
Nuggets Explored More In Peyton Watson Trade Than Fans Realized
The Nuggets decision to move Peyton Watson was not simply a clean trade for future draft capital, even if that is how it ultimately came together. Around the league, Denver did more homework on the market than many fans realized, weighing whether a player return might make more sense before settling on the simpler path of picks. With the roster and payroll already shaped by a championship timeline, the front office had to balance short-term help against the flexibility it wants to preserve.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kris Dunn were both part of the broader conversation as Denver looked at possible sign-and-trade structures, but the Nuggets never reached the point of making official offers. Salary-cap complications loomed over every version of the idea, and the teams preference for draft capital over added salary pushed the deal toward a cleaner finish. What seemed like a straightforward asset swap, then, was actually the end result of a more complicated search that may say as much about Denvers roster-building priorities as the trade itself. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets Just Added A Veteran Scorer With A Lot Riding On It
Denvers offseason suddenly got a lot more interesting with the reported addition of DeMar DeRozan, a veteran scorer whose rsum still carries real weight around the league. The six-time All-Star became a free agent after being waived by Sacramento, and the Nuggets are now set to bring him in on a one-year deal that adds another proven option to a roster built around Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray.
The move gives Denver 14 players on guaranteed contracts and pushes the team over the second luxury tax apron, a sign the front office is willing to pay for a chance to strengthen the rotation around its core. DeRozan has spent much of his career as a half-court shot creator and late-game bucket-getter, exactly the kind of veteran presence that can change the texture of a playoff series if everything clicks. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets Still Have One Defensive Problem They Never Truly Fixed
The Nuggets spent the offseason trying to clean up a problem that was plain enough during their first-round loss to Minnesota: their paint defense still left too much to be desired. Rather than solve it with a direct roster move, they moved forward with internal adjustments, bringing in defensive assistant Dave Joerger and adding Alpha Diallo as a strong defender while hoping better scheme and sharper positioning can make the difference.
Joergers arrival gives Denver another voice in the room as it looks for ways to protect the rim without fundamentally changing the roster around it. Diallo adds a perimeter stopper the team can lean on, but the bigger question remains whether the Nuggets can turn coaching tweaks and better discipline into a real answer in the lane, where opponents found too much comfort last spring. [Read more 🡒]