One of the biggest question marks of the Nuggets’ offseason was how to handle Peyton Watson. Throughout his young career, the wing has been the root of a lot of drama—though not in the traditional sense. He’s had no off-court issues and, by all accounts, seems to be a wonderful young man. However, his potential, due to his incredible physical tools, did not translate into consistent on-court production until this year, which led to much of the drama surrounding him.
It already started with the team drafting him despite averaging just 3.3 points in his lone season at UCLA, to reportedly becoming a major point of contention between former GM Calvin Booth and former head coach Michael Malone.
The front office strongly believed in Watson’s physical gifts and long-term upside and insisted he deserved more playing time. This clashed sharply with Malone’s old-school philosophy of earning minutes through merit, which is why Watson had to prove himself as a dependable contributor and therefore was not gifted an expanded role or minutes.
Peyton Watson Has More than Earned His Big Payday
All of this culminated in Watson entering this season with considerable uncertainty surrounding him. His biggest advocate, Booth, had been fired, and the new front office declined to extend his contract. They also brought in quality players at the wing positions—players more than capable of relegating him to the bench if he couldn’t deliver reliable production.
Yet in a year when the Nuggets dealt with numerous injuries, Watson seized his opportunities. He first stepped in as a reliable role player, filling in capably for Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon. With Nikola Jokic sidelined, he proved he could shoulder more responsibility, showcasing scoring and offensive-creation skills that should prompt the franchise to reconsider his long-term importance within the organization. Watson’s career year now positions him to command a massive and very well-deserved payday in the upcoming offseason.
Why the Nuggets Were Still Right to Hold Off on a Watson Extension
In hindsight, passing on an extension may look like a mistake, but the Nuggets front office was not wrong in exercising caution and waiting for Watson to prove himself. The league is full of young players with elite physical tools and sky-high potential, yet the key uncertainty is whether those attributes translate to winning basketball. Before this season, Watson was still a raw prospect whose career could have gone in several directions. His defensive ceiling was enormous, but frequent mental lapses held him back, and his undeveloped offensive game—especially his unreliable shooting—made him a liability in half-court situations.
Fortunately for the Nuggets, the near-best-case scenario unfolded: Watson grew offensively in ways that perhaps only he and Booth genuinely believed he could. But this organization has been burned before by paying for theoretical upside. The Zeke Nnaji extension remains their cautionary tale—they committed money to a young player with an intriguing profile: a switchable defender who could guard positions 1 through 5 and showed glimpses of floor-spacing ability. They paid for promise instead of production and dealt with the consequences when that promise never materialized.
Striking Similarities to Christian Braun’s Breakout Year
But Watson is different. This season, he has reached a level that shifts the conversation from whether he can be a reliable contributor to how the Nuggets should integrate him as a long-term starter. Much like Christian Braun did last season following Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s departure, Watson has shown he can become a long-term heir to one of the championship core’s longtime starters in Aaron Gordon.
As with Braun, most of the questions revolved around offense. However, the young guard had already built a larger body of work that showed his ability to become the long-term solution at the shooting guard position. Watson, on the other hand, entered this season with far more uncertainty due to bigger question marks around his offense and potential fit concerns. While KCP had already shown some limitations to his long-term viability in Denver, the only meaningful question surrounding AG is his health, as his on-court performances this season may have been the best of his career. Even so, Watson unveiled an offensive arsenal we hadn’t seen before and established himself as the clear internal successor to Gordon.
One concern remains. As Watson’s offensive workload has increased, his defensive performance has declined significantly. That correlation is normal for a young player taking on greater responsibility. The same happened with Braun last regular season, but if the parallels continue, Watson should rediscover his defensive form once the postseason arrives.
Watson’s Career Year Should Lead to an Extension at All Costs
Overall, the Nuggets should be happy about these kinds of problems—especially after years of struggling with a lack of depth and now enjoying an embarrassment of riches.
The path forward is clear: the Kroenkes must invest at a level they never have before. A major extension for Watson would push the Nuggets deep into the luxury tax, and crossing the second apron would bring additional penalties—draft restrictions and roster inflexibility that could constrain future moves. Even so, those costs pale in comparison to the opportunity in front of them.
Denver is firmly in its championship window, and organically developing a player of Watson’s caliber is a rare stroke of fortune for a team already contending at the highest level. This is the best roster in Nuggets history. If the franchise hopes to sustain any chance at a dynasty, the front office must commit to keeping this core intact.
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