The Denver Nuggets are heading into a pivotal offseason where the franchise has to decide on the future of their roster after an embarrassing first-round exit against a shorthanded Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2026 NBA Playoffs. The current Nuggets core around Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray might have already peaked, and the franchise needs to make a drastic change in the offseason to boost the franchise’s ceiling as a title contender once again.
The Nuggets are heading into the 2026 offseason with a $213.8 million payroll, just $2 million under the second apron with just nine full-time players on the roster. On top of that, the franchise is dealing with a major restricted free agency decision with forward Peyton Watson, who averaged 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 0.9 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game in a breakout season and looks to be the perfect two-way forward next to Jokic and Murray.
In a bid to ensure they have the space to re-sign Watson, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps is reporting that the Nuggets are looking at trades for Christian Braun and Cameron Johnson to free up the necessary room.
“The Nuggets have never been big spenders, which is why the belief around the league is that Cameron Johnson (on an expiring $23 million deal) or Christian Braun (on a five-year, $125 million extension signed in the fall) is likely to be moved to create enough room to give Watson something in the per-year range of those players.”
Johnson averaged 12.2 points in his first season with the Nuggets and 14.2 points in the Playoffs. It was an objectively disappointing campaign, as Johnson performed well-below expectations after being a marquee addition in the Michael Porter Jr. trade last offseason. While Porter Jr. had a fantastic season on the Brooklyn Nets, Johnson struggled with injuries and poor production in Denver.
Christian Braun averaged 12.0 points and 4.8 rebounds last season, also struggling with injuries for most of the regular season. He averaged 8.3 points in the postseason. The Nuggets might have prematurely handed him a five-year, $125 million extension after his rookie contract, which kicks in this summer, and costs the franchise $21.1 million in the first year. That price for his production is untenable, since the team already relies more on Watson in their core rotation.
While we’ve explored potential trades for Johnson and Braun, it’ll be hard to find cost-cutting moves, especially with Braun. He’s in the first year of an overpriced contract, which means Denver might need to attach future assets to just get off his money. Johnson will be much easier to trade as a proven 3-and-D veteran on a $23.06 million expiring deal. The return might not be great, but this is very movable.
The Nuggets will hope to find a team that could offer them players on poor-value long-term deals, which are cheaper than what Braun is on, while they could move off Johnson in a simpler trade involving returning draft assets. Denver might even be forced into a situation where they trade Johnson for additional assets that they use to unload Braun. As long as the end goal is to re-sign Watson, who’s more productive than either player, the team will value getting off them more than the value they bring back.
Watson is expected to be pursued by rivals, including the Los Angeles Lakers, in the offseason. The Nuggets can’t afford to wait and see what Watson gets offered, and it’d be smart for them to proactively move off the contracts of Braun and Johnson right now if it guarantees them a shot at retaining Watson.
