The asking price on Peyton Watson has come down, and that should put the Portland Trail Blazers on alert.
Denver originally wanted two first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps in a sign-and-trade scenario involving Watson, but ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on NBA Today that the Nuggets have since reduced that demand to one “high-level player” and one first-round pick. That lines up with reporting from The Stein Line, where NBA insider Jake Fischer wrote that “Denver is still holding out for the equivalent of at least two first-round picks in any sign-and-trade in which it loses Watson.”
That leaves the Nuggets in a tricky spot. They clearly don’t want to move a young player they value, but they also find themselves as the lone team in the second apron after the Oklahoma City Thunder forced the issue by signing restricted free agent Spencer Jones to a two-year, $12 million offer sheet that Denver ultimately matched.
Even with the price adjusted, Watson is the kind of player plenty of teams should be circling. Fischer said the Milwaukee Bucks are currently the “most likely” team to try to pry him away from Denver, but Portland ought to be right there with them.
Watson is 23, which makes him a clean fit for both the Blazers’ timeline and their roster needs. If Portland could somehow land him before the 2026-27 season, this offseason would look a lot better no matter how strange some of the other moves have felt. He’s the kind of piece that can make the whole thing click.
That said, his appeal is obvious enough that the market could keep climbing. Still, the fact that Denver has lowered its ask to something that looks manageable gives Portland a real opening. If the Blazers want to make a move, they should be able to afford it.
Shaedon Sharpe is the obvious name to watch here. Watson has already shown more of an ability to help a team win, and he’s a cleaner fit than Sharpe, who slipped out of Tiago Splitter’s playoff rotation in Portland’s first-round series loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
Because Sharpe was once a top ten pick, he could count as part of the first-round value Denver wants back. A package built around Sharpe and Orlando’s 2028 first-round pick might be enough to get the conversation moving. Denver could ask for a little more, but that’s at least a real starting point.
There’s also a basketball argument the Nuggets could talk themselves into. Nikola Jokic’s passing could open things up for Sharpe’s cutting and athleticism in the same way it has for Aaron Gordon. Even if Sharpe isn’t the exact “high-level player” Denver has in mind, Portland needs to make the call and find out what it would take.
Joe Cronin has already shown he’s willing to part with draft capital to bring in a more established player who fits with the Blazers’ young core. Watson could be the next example of that approach.
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