UCLA Basketball: Did Bruins Alum’s Rotational Demotion Cost His Team 2024 Title?

He's struggling to find his footing at the pro level.

Mar 17, 2022; Portland, OR, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Tyger Campbell (10) is congratulated by guard Peyton Watson (23) against the Akron Zips during the second half during the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports / Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Nuggets, widely expected to become the Western Conference's representatives in the NBA Finals for the second consecutive season this year, were instead shocked in just the second round of the playoffs. After dropping the first two games of their semifinal series with the Minnesota Timberwolves, both at home, it became clear that the reigning champs were in trouble. Eventually, though Denver rallied to push the series to seven games, the team did get upset by Minnesota — now trailing the Dallas Mavericks 0-2 in the Western Conference Finals.

Now, pundits are starting to Monday morning quarterback some of team coach Michael Malone's rotational decisionmaking.

On a recent episode of his essential show The Bill Simmons Podcast, Bill Simmons of The Ringer, for one, wonders if a lot of the issues boiled down to Malones' distrust in his bench depth, specifically with regards to the usage of talented-if-raw reserve swingman Peyton Watson, a one-and-done UCLA Bruins alum.

"Your guy Peyton Watson, I don't know what they gave up on him, 'cause they were one guy short," Simmons told guest Kevin O'Connor. "They didn't have Bruce Brown from last year, they didn't have Jeff Green from last year. And the feeling was [Christian] Braun and Peyton Watson were gonna be the two guys getting those minutes, and they just punted on Watson."

"Watson's lack of a reliable jumper I think is why Malone decided, 'We can't rely on him,'" O'Connor countered.

The 6-foot-8 Watson was selected with the No. 30 pick in the 2022 draft. He didn't quite crack the club's rotation during its run to the 2023 championship, though he had been part of Malone's 2023-24 rotations prior to the playoffs. On the year, the 21-year-old averaged 6.7 points per game, mostly off the bench, on a .465/.296/.670 slash line. That unreliable three point shot hurt his on-court impact.

"You can play him at home. I'm okay with young guys at home," Simmons responded to O'Connor. "Sometimes the crowd, especially when you're up [as Denver was for much of Game 7], I would have thrown him out there. They were just a guy short."

Can Watson hone his shooting touch to become a reliable talent on a cost-effective, rookie-scale contract next year? Or is he going to stay a solid defender with an inconsistent jumper going forward? If he had that jumper in his arsenal, could he have helped put his team over the top, in a hotly-contested Minnesota series? And would Denver have had more of a chance against Dallas than Minnesota seems to, thanks to its (generally) superior late-game offense?

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