The Nuggets Just Got GREAT NEWS...

The Denver Nuggets just got great news, as this team has been trying to find a way to retain Peyton Watson on this roster, as the front office and Watson have been in long negotiations. And with a few different teams looking at the services of the 23-year-old, talented two-way player, there have been a lot of new updates surrounding Peyton Watson, surrounding what his future does look like with the Denver Nuggets, or if it will be elsewhere through a sign-in trade, with even a few different players coming up as potential pieces as part of a sign-in trade. And we are going to go over all that right now, guys. There is so much to go over on the Denver Nuggets, and we're going to jump right into it as usual. Make sure to go ahead and subscribe to Nuggets Digest if you are part of that 70% that is currently unsubscribed. We do have videos like this coming out every single day, breaking down all the latest Denver Nuggets news. As we're on that road to 4,000 subscribers, it is completely free to go ahead and subscribe to the channel. And there's been a lot of discussions surrounding what exactly to do with Peyton Watson, because look, he wants a ton of money and free agency. He saw what Christian Brown got. He had a better season than Christian Brown did, but Brown got the big contract, and now, because of that, there's a lot of talks surrounding if Watson is going to be like one of the many restricted free agents who start taking qualifying offers and trying to leave, get sign-in trade, or do end up getting retained on a long-term deal with the Nuggets. And though it's been all over the place, now we do see what the most likely scenario is, and it's one that's great news for the Nuggets. As Peyton Watson, it was revealed that good news from Harrison Wind, while he thinks both sides are apart from a deal right now, he believes that ultimately, Peyton Watson will return to the Nuggets. Obviously, this is a huge deal. Watson was so important for the team last year, and he's someone that we do have to look at as someone who really is a big future part of this Nuggets team. He's only 23 years old, and he just had a breakout campaign in Denver. I mean, he'll be one of the starters next year, assuming he's on the roster, and if he is, we will see Watson get a lot of good time in. I mean, there's a man who put up 14.6 points per game last year, averaged one block and one steal per game, played under 30 minutes and still did this well, shooting 41% from three and 49% from the field. He was effective. The defense is great. He also pulled down five rebounds. He's a physical player. He's talented. He's smart. And he's only getting better. So right now, it does make sense for the Nuggets to give Watson the contract that he would agree to. Now, obviously, there's going to be some negotiation. Restricted free agents don't get great pay anymore, just the way the second apron has kind of made things. But still, the Nuggets do want to retain Watson. I mean, there was noise about them going up to $30 million on average annual value, willing to match, so they wouldn't lose Watson. But there has been a lot of further questions surrounding what exactly to do with him. I mean, we've seen a bunch of reports. We've seen right here that Peyton Watson, when we look at him and what's going on, our report mentioned that while Denver has remained intent on retaining its young athletic forward, contract talks with Watson and his representatives have yet to produce a common ground on salary range. As a result, the Nuggets begun exploring potential sign and trade scenarios, sources have said, and multiple teams instantly showed interest. The Milwaukee Bucs being one of them. The Bucs are in a young rebuild right now, and the Bucs are interested in acquiring Peyton Watson via the sign and trade, according to Mark Stein. The Clippers and Hawks have also registered interest in Watson. Now, a lot to look at here. On one side of it, the Bucs, they do make sense because the Bucs are trying to rebuild this young core, trying to find their way back with not a whole lot of draft picks. So you want guys like that to really hit. So you do have something to walk away with and say, all right, well, we're in good position right now. We do have this young core already. We could add Peyton Watson. And the question is, who do you really give out right here? And that was answered for us recently as there were reports that the Nuggets would be interested in acquiring Jaime Jaquez, Jr. in a deal that would send Watson to the Bucs. Now, Jaquez is a very talented player, came in second in six men of the year voting, is a really good ball handler, and the only knock on his game is the inconsistent three-point shooting. Outside of that, he really does everything really well. Jaquez is a good defender. Is he as good of a defender as Watson? No. And what makes him a less valuable player is that he's not as good of a defender as Peyton Watson, and he's also not a good shooter. Again, he only shot 32% from three, but he did shoot 50% from the field. He did put up 15 points per game. He did pull down five rebounds. He did get five assists. There's a lot of reasons why Jaime Jaquez, Jr. was able to go out and be second in six men of the year voting. Jaquez is a very talented player. He's still young, and he does give you what you want out of a young, up-and-coming piece. Now, is he going to be a franchise cornerstone? Maybe. He's not going to be some superstar, but he could have a very good impact on a franchise like the Nuggets, who they could use Jaquez in some on-ball situations. They could use another facilitator. Jaquez does do that, so I get why they would register interest. The Hawks, it's a little bit different, because again, we do know the Hawks held interest. We saw it get mentioned by Polly Market Hoops that the Hawks are interested in acquiring Peyton Watson through a sign-and-trade deal with the Nuggets, according to Jake Fisher through the Steinlein, that Denver's asking price is comparable, though, to what the Utah Jazz received for Walker Kessler, and now, there's a lot to look at in this specific situation. Now, first of all, let's be real. The front office, that is a lofty goal to be asking for that much, because you're not going to get it. Walker Kessler was an overpay by the Lakers. It's just the way it was. I get the Lakers need a big man, they've liked Walker Kessler for a while, but that was an absurd trade to trade multiple firsts and swaps in exchange for Walker Kessler. I thought that trade was absolutely wild by the Lakers, and the Nuggets front office, they're just not going to get a deal like that. That's not going to come around. They're not going to land that, but they could land a solid deal for them. Again, Jaquez is not bad. With the Hawks, though, it's interesting. The Hawks just made a trade as well, which maybe dampens their interest in Peyton Watson. The Hawks acquired Lou Dort just the other day, trading out Zachary Richechet in the process, also acquired Ryan Nemmard. You look at the team right now, and you do understand that maybe the Hawks are not going to be as dead set on adding Peyton Watson anymore, because now they have even more wing defense. They do have, obviously, Nikhil Alexander-Walker's a good defender, Dyson Daniels is as good as it gets, Lou Dort's a great on-ball defender, so I do understand that they have a lot of good defense. I don't know if they'd still be that locked in on a Peyton Watson, who's another kind of pure wing like the other three guys who I just mentioned. I do think because of that, we would likely not see that situation happen, so I think the Hawks have probably lost some interest now that they do have Lou Dort. The Clippers will still be interested. The problem with the Clippers is you're not exactly going to get the world's greatest package in return. They only have so many draft picks, and the guy who's come up for them has been Derek Jones Jr. Now, Derek Jones Jr. is a talented player, and I think he would fit really well in the Nuggets. Don't get me wrong. He's a good defender. He got a block and a steal per game like Watson as well, but he also put up less points, and he was a less effective shooter from the field. Shooting 36% is not bad. He'd be a great cutter. He'd be a good switchable player, a guy that the Nuggets would like, but he's, I don't want to say a worse version of Peyton Watson. They're definitely different players. Jones is way better on the cut than Watson is, but at the same time, I just think Watson fits the team better right now, and I would rather them stick with a younger guy who fits the team. He's not a free agent in a year, so then all of a sudden, if Watson's really playing well, and he's on the Clippers, and we're looking at Derek Jones Jr. leaving free agency, it feels like a massive misstep by the front office. Now, again, there is a lot to look at still, because we do see from full court pass that, again, they're asking for a Walker-Kessler type of return for any sign trade, which include two unprotected firsts and two swaps. We're not going to see that, but we could see a good package, but right now, it doesn't seem like we're going to have to. I mean, Tim Wagler said that it's a must to re-sign Watson. He's 23 years old. He's just starting to pop off, and he defends, and I don't really think we're going to see Peyton Watson go anywhere. Now there's optimism that Watson will be coming back to the Denver Nuggets, but I actually am now expecting Peyton Watson to be a part of the Denver Nuggets. I think the Nuggets and Watson will find a common ground around $25 million, which I would do for the up-and-coming star wing of the Denver Nuggets. Guys, let me know what you think about that in the comments down below. Like this video, subscribe, turn on post notifications. Have a great day, and I will catch you all on the flip side.