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Nuggets rumors: Denver ready to shell out $30 million a year for Peyton Watson, but trade needed
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- Nuggets rumors: Denver ready to shell out $30 million a year for Peyton Watson, but trade needed
Nuggets rumors: Denver ready to shell out $30 million a year for Peyton Watson, but trade needed appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The Denver Nuggets are looking to regain status as a contender in the Western Conference, and a big part of that plan is to re-sign Peyton Watson who hit restricted free agency this offseason. While it's a no-brainer to have a young, developing wing back on the roster, the Nuggets are going to have to do some roster shuffling before they can dole out his new contract.
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The Nuggets are reportedly ready to give Peyton Watson a new contract in free agency worth around $28-30 million per season, as per ClutchPoints' NBA insider Brett Siegel, but in order to do so they're going to need to clear some space salary-wise.
The two players the Nuggets are most likely to move via trade are Cam Johnson and Christian Braun , with Aaron Gordon being another possibility. To help clear space to re-sign the budding young guard, Nuggets traded out of the first round of the NBA Draft as to not add a guaranteed salary.
Teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers , Chicago Bulls and Brooklyn Nets are rumored to have interest in pursuing Watson, potentially via sign-and-trade, but current signs point to him being back in a Nuggets jersey.
The No. 30 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Watson has played the first four seasons of his career with the Nuggets. After putting up career numbers this past year, he was sidelined for the end of the regular season and the playoffs due to a hamstring injury.
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The former UCLA standout appeared in 54 games, including 40 starts, at a little over 29 minutes per game. He averaged a career-best 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 blocked shots with splits of 49.1 percent shooting from the field, 41.1 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 73 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
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