Nikola Jokic didn’t spend much time looking backward when asked about the Nuggets’ Peyton Watson sign-and-trade. After Serbia beat France in an exhibition game Thursday, the Denver star said he was pleased for Watson even as he acknowledged what the team is losing.
“ I’m happy for Peyton, he deserved it,” Jokic said. “ We will miss his energy and skill. I’m not thinking about season yet, we have to play this (two August qualifying games for the 2027 World Cup), but it’s gonna be OK.”
That deal has drawn plenty of reaction around the league, and not much of it has been kind to Denver. Zach Kram of ESPN gave the Nuggets a “D” for their role in the five-team trade, noting that the team would have faced an enormous luxury tax hit if it had matched the four-year, $88MM deal Watson got from Cleveland. Kram also said the draft assets Denver picked up kept the move from becoming an “unmitigated disaster,” but he still argued the Nuggets will miss Watson’s youth, athleticism, defense and upside - traits the roster already lacks in enough supply.
Kram added that while Denver now has a 2031 first-round pick from the Cavs, he doubts the eventual player selected there will be more impactful than Watson. In his view, the Nuggets would have been better off keeping the 23-year-old forward.
Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette framed the Watson move as another sign of ownership’s reluctance to absorb a massive tax bill. He also warned the trade could look worse if the Kroenkes push the front office to dump more salary, especially with the limited draft capital Denver has left to work with.
Benedetto pointed out that the front office was praised last summer for moves that looked clean on paper, only for the season to end in a first-round playoff exit. Now, he wrote, Denver has effectively turned Michael Porter Jr., Watson and Dario Saric into Cameron Johnson, one season of Jonas Valanciunas and a second-round pick.
Not exactly a haul that inspires confidence.
The debate over Watson has also turned into a broader argument about whether the Nuggets are wasting Jokic’s prime. Mark Kiszla and Paul Klee of The Denver Gazette tackled that question directly.
Kiszla said if the goal was simply to trim salary, Denver would have been wiser to move Johnson instead, arguing Johnson is 6-and-a-half years older than Watson and, in his view, the lesser player. Klee wasn’t as high on Watson, but he agreed the franchise has mishandled the Jokic era and said the original misstep came when former head of basketball operations Tim Connelly was allowed to leave for Minnesota in the 2022 offseason.
Both writers came to the same basic conclusion: the Nuggets should be adding talent, but instead they’ve taken a step back.
DeMar DeRozan is the other name drawing attention in Denver, and Tim MacMahon of ESPN didn’t exactly sugarcoat the fit. On the Hoops Collective Podcast, MacMahon called it “clunky,” saying the Nuggets’ options in free agency were limited and that DeRozan could still help “prop up” what looks like a thin second-unit offense. But he was blunt about the issues alongside Jokic.
“ I don’t think you can play DeRozan with Joker because DeRozan needs the ball,” MacMahon said. “ He doesn’t space (the floor).
He’s not a cutter. … And then that duo defensively stinks worse than morning breath after a 12-pack of Coors Light.”
Kram was more upbeat about DeRozan’s addition, especially considering the cost. He acknowledged the defensive questions and the fact that DeRozan is a very different player from Watson, but he also described the veteran as an efficient scorer and an underrated play-maker and passer. In Kram’s view, DeRozan should help “stabilize the offense” whenever Jokic or Jamal Murray is off the floor.
In Other News...
Nikola Jokic Got Dragged Into A WNBA Debate And Fans Pounced
Lexie Brown found herself in the middle of a Nuggets-adjacent basketball argument after sitting down with Michael Porter Jr. on his Curious Mike YouTube channel and pushing back on his criticism of the WNBA. Browns broader point was simple enough: elite basketball is not defined by constant dunks or pure vertical explosiveness, and players can dominate with strength, balance, coordination and high-level decision-making just as much as with lift.
Nikola Jokic became the lightning rod for that point, and fans wasted little time reacting to the way Brown framed him in the conversation. Some disagreed with her take on his fundamentals, turning a discussion about skill and athleticism into another round of debate over what real basketball excellence looks like. [Read more 🡒]
Peyton Watsons Nuggets Playoff Absence Looks More Complicated Now
Peyton Watsons playoff absence for the Nuggets was already explained by a right hamstring strain, but the backstory around that decision has gotten a lot more layered. Watsons agent, Rich Paul, discussed the situation on a podcast and framed the choice as one that balanced short-term availability with the bigger picture of Watsons future, a reminder that postseason injuries can carry consequences well beyond one spring.
Watson eventually landed a major new contract, signing a four-year deal with the Cavaliers, and the financial context around his next step makes Denvers side of the story even more interesting. The Nuggets had been in the mix with an offer of their own, but the gap between what was available and what Watson ultimately secured helps explain why his playoff no-show now feels like more than just a hamstring issue. [Read more 🡒]
Jamal Murrays Mindset Says Everything About What The Nuggets Still Need
Jamal Murrays new four-year maximum extension with the Nuggets, worth $208 million, would be enough to change the daily habits of almost anyone. But Murray has made it clear he still wants his life, and his approach to the game, to be defined by something other than the paycheck. Even after locking in that kind of money, he has kept his attention on winning and on the kind of career he wants to build in Denver.
That mindset matters because it speaks to the tone the Nuggets still need around their core. Murray has emphasized that money is not his focus, choosing instead to stay grounded and think about the example he sets at home, especially for his younger brother. It is a small detail with a bigger point attached: for Denver, the challenge is making sure the standards in the room stay tied to basketball, not comfort. [Read more 🡒]