The Nuggets’ offseason has been strangely quiet, and that silence is starting to feel louder with each passing week. For a team built around Nikola Jokic, that’s not exactly the kind of summer buzz Denver fans were hoping for.
Jokic remains, at worst, a top-two player in basketball, but the roster around him hasn’t exactly gotten the kind of shake-up that changes the conversation. That’s why some of the names being floated in possible moves have started to draw attention, even if the fit comes with obvious questions.
Among the players mentioned are LeBron James and Klay Thompson, though Thompson is the more intriguing option because of what he still brings from deep. That shooting is the hook, and it’s what led one writer to suggest a deal involving Peyton Watson and the Dallas Mavericks.
“The Denver Nuggets may be one of the only teams actually willing to take on the entirety of Thompson’s contract. The reason is the availability of free agent Peyton Watson via sign-and-trade.
Obviously, the Nuggets wouldn’t do this one-for-one, but the other players and draft capital involved are to be discussed later. Right now, let’s just talk about the incredible potential Thompson has with Nikola Jokic as his playmaker.
That would be a lethal duo, even with Thompson getting up there in age,” Charles North wrote.
Still, a straight-up swap of Thompson for Watson would be a nonstarter for Denver. Any real version of that idea would need more pieces attached, and even then it’s fair to wonder whether either side would want to go through with it.
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