Two-way swingman Peyton Watson has been a crucial member of the Nuggets‘ core for years, but his future is uncertain as extension talks stall. With the 2023 NBA champion seeking roughly $25 million per year, the market is limited for his services, but there’s still one team that’s hot on his tail: the Los Angeles Clippers.
Fresh off the departures of James Harden, Ivica Zubac, and Kawhi Leonard, the Clippers are all in on the youth movement, and they see Watson as an elite-level role player who could open up the floor for his younger teammates.
“We’re still being told that the Clippers are not ruling themselves out of the sign-and-trade chase for Denver’s Peyton Watson even after signing Rui Hachimura to a two-year, $28 million deal,” reported Marc Stein and Jake Fischer. “They would need to assemble a sign-and-trade to acquire Watson and overcome Denver’s behind-the-scenes insistence that it will match any offer sheet for Watson. As for other teams in the Watson race… As of Tuesday morning, it was difficult to pinpoint any other credible contenders.”
Watson, 23, was an important role player for the Nuggets last season, averaging 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.9 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game on 49.1% shooting and 41.1% shooting from three. He spread the floor for Nikola Jokic and helped contain opponents on the other end with elite perimeter defense.
The four-year veteran was playing on a $4.3 million team option in 2025-26, but the Clippers might be willing to offer $116 million over four years to lure him away from Denver. They don’t have the room now, but they can make it happen by front-loading John Collins‘ salary and using their $9.1 million trade exception granted in the recent trade. The Nuggets could match any offer that comes his way, but $29 million per year is likely too steep for them to pay with Jokic and Murray taking up so much of the payroll already.
For Denver, losing such a key role player would undoubtedly hurt their depth, and that would be bad news coming off a season where they lost in the very first round. To truly maximize the time they have left with Jokic, they need all the help they can get, and this loss could have devastating effects.
The Clippers, meanwhile, risk the chance of overpaying for Watson. So far, he hasn’t proven to be more than a two-way role player, but he would be paid like a borderline star at $29 million per year. Even so, his addition could make the Clippers a respectable threat in the West, especially if Darius Garland, Brandon Ingram, and Rui Hachimura stay healthy this season.
Without a bona fide superstar, the Clippers can’t be expected to compete with the likes of the Thunder, Spurs, or Timberwolves in the West, but they are clearly building toward something great in this post-Kawhi era. Rather than starting from scratch, they are trying to stay competitive and build up their power one move at a time. It’s an active work in progress, and they believe Peyton Watson could be part of the solution for a better future.
