Peyton Watson will be a restricted free agent after the season. The Nuggets wing’s best path to a large contract next offseason could be as a three-and-D player, Bennett Durando of the Denver Post writes.
Watson has been starting with Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun sidelined. His two highest-scoring games of his career have occurred in the past week — 32 points against New Orleans and 27 against Memphis — and he has made a handful of three-pointers in each of those contests, having been particularly adept at hitting corner threes.
Here’s more on the Nuggets:
- DaRon Holmes, a 2024 first-round pick, has only appeared in two games but he was recently recalled by the NBA club. Coach David Adelman said it’s important to have roster players around their NBA teammates at times, even when they’re getting extended playing time in the G League, Durando tweets. “The guys that are down there, we have to get them back with us and then send them back,” he said. “They need to get back with the guys, keep a relationship with the coaching staff. If you leave guys down there too long, I think it’s unfair to them as a professional player. So we’ll do the best we can to rotate them through.”
- Durando interviewed Tim Hardaway Jr.‘s college and high school coaches, weaving them into the narrative that Hardaway makes for an ideal role player. Hardaway is averaging 11.1 points per game off the bench after signing a one-year, minimum-salary contract as a free agent.
- In his latest mailbag, Durando ranks the top five passes by Nikola Jokic that he’s seen. He also grades the Nuggets at the quarter mark of the season, giving them an A-minus. The only reason he didn’t give them an A is that they lost two home games to inferior opponents.