The NuggetsThe biggest trade of the offseason involved a departure, not an acquisition, like the front office signed and traded lifting wing Peyton Watson to Cleveland in exchange for draft assets in a five-team deal.
Ben Tenzerthe team’s executive vice president of basketball operations, spoke about the move during Monday’s media day, praising the impact Watson made during his time in Denver and contextualizing the decision from his perspective.
“We’d be comfortable trading it if the price got to a point where we’d be excited to get back” said Tenzer (Link to video on Twitter via Mike Varkunov of The Athletic). “And while we didn’t get a player back, we did get some very valuable draft capital. We didn’t have to do it, but our inner thoughts were that as long as we got what we asked for, we were comfortable doing it.”
General manager John Wallace added that Watson’s surge, especially in January 2026, when he averaged 21.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game while shooting 46.2% of his threes, showed a clear plus and that he understands the disappointment of his departure. However, the team believes in the “next man up” mentality to try and fill the void left.
Wallace also clarified that he never felt that Watson left the team like he did worked to get back from a hamstring injury, according to Bennett Durand of the Denver Post (via Twitter).
We have more information on the Nuggets’ media day:
- Recently signed forward DeMar DeRozan will take on a significant amount of ball-handling duties off the bench, head coach David Adelman said Monday, according to Vinny Benedetto of the Denver Gazette (Link to Twitter). The 37-year-old hasn’t come off the bench since his debut season in 2009-10, but Adelman’s comments at media day indicated his addition to the roster would not affect the starting lineup, Benedetto noted.
- The Nuggets made a significant investment in the third-year forward Spencer Jones after he started 37 games for them last season compliance the two-year, $11.75 million offer he signed with the Thunder. Jones expressed his happiness that Denver kept him, according to Durand, though he joked that he didn’t know the Nuggets’ matchup decision would require him to leave his summer vacation in Columbia early for a medical (Link to Twitter). “It kind of ruined my trip, but I’ll ruin my trip for $12 million” he said.
- Aaron Gordon hopes to rebound after being limited to just 36 regular season games and three postseason appearances in 2025/26 due to injuries. He knows how important it is for him to stay healthy this year if the team wants to regain title-threat status, and talked about how he takes care of his body now, in his 13th NBA season, compared to when he was younger. “I got into the league when I was 18 and I could get out of bed and play for 48 minutes and then go back to bed” he said, according to Durand (via Twitter). “… Now I’m a man, and I’ve got a bunch of tricks. I need to be here much earlier and stay much later. And I need to put in a lot more time in the warm-up and a lot more time in the cool-down so that I can be available for these guys.”
- The Nuggets added as part of an effort to keep the lineup in top shape Nick Semme as the new Director of Athletic Training. Seme previously worked with the G League Nuggets before leaving in 2025 for the Hornets as a physical therapist and assistant athletic trainer. Durando writes for the Post.
