The Milwaukee Bucks are looking to pry Peyton Watson from the Nuggets

The Milwaukee Bucks have already made multiple moves this offseason, and they could add another one to the list.

Milwaukee had everyone's attention when the franchise finally decided to pull the plug and trade away Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat and received four new players and draft capital in return.

On top of that, the Bucks made two selections in the lottery and drafted Brayden Burries and Nate Ament, acquired Caris LeVert from the Pistons and signed Gary Trent Jr., to four-year, $64 million deal.

The decision to bring back Trent was a surprise for the majority of the people, and now Milwaukee is looking at an abundant guards on the roster. But, there may be way to deal with the crowd of guards on the team given new intel from NBA insider Marc Stein.

Stein reported on the The Stein Line that the Bucks have joined the party in an attempt to pry forward, Peyton Watson from the Denver Nuggets through a sign-and-trade.

𝑵𝑬𝑾𝑺: The Bucks are interested in acquiring Peyton Watson via sign-and-trade, per @TheSteinLine

The Clippers and Hawks have also reportedly registered interest in Watson.

🔗 Full report: https://t.co/NUZwZCD9Hq pic.twitter.com/fs25L8mvCX
— DNVR Nuggets (@DNVR_Nuggets) July 14, 2026

"The Nuggets, mind you, still have two restricted free agents of their own to hash out deals with: Peyton Watson and Spencer Jones," Stein said. "And some fresh rumbles have been relayed to The Stein Line that the Bucks are joining the Clippers and Hawks on the list of teams trying to pry Watson away from the Nuggets via sign-and-trade."

Watson just finished his fourth season with the Nuggets, and it was his best season of his young career. Coming out of college, Watson was drafted as a project player who possessed great defensive skills and intangibles, standing at 6-foot-8 with a roughly 7-foot-1-inch wingspan.

When he joined Denver, he contributed as a two-way player who excelled on the defensive end. He averaged 6.8 points, 3.1 rebounds 1.1 assists and 1.1 blocks per game in his first three seasons.

The high defensive motor was on display during that 2023-24 season, as he became the first second-year player in Nuggets history to record 88+ blocks in a season since Raef LaFrentz and Keon Clark, while also becoming the first Nuggets' bench player with six or more blocks in a game since JaVale McGee in 2012.

For a team with an all-time great leading the way in Nikola Jokic, Watson played his role by defending, rebounding and causing havoc, but after steadily getting better over time, his role took leap this past season with Denver.

Last season, he averaged 8.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, on 47.7% shooting from the field and 35.3% 3-point line. But this year, he increased it 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 blocks per game, while shooting 49.1% from the field and 41.1% from the 3-point line on an increase of attempts.

Watson has gotten more comfortable with the ball in his hands to create his own shot, and as shooter. The California native is only 23 years old and the consensus is that he is looking for around $25 million a year.

The Nuggets roster is already expensive with the contracts of Jokic, Jamal Murray, Cameron Johnson, Aaron Gordon, and Christian Braun, so Watson's anticipated deal he could complicate Denver's salary cap.

Milwaukee has decided to throw its hat in the ring in a possibility to pursue Watson and could make it happen given the assests. With such an overload at the guard positions, the Bucks could potentially move a few of them to get Watson.

The Bucks have explored sign-and-trade scenarios to acquire Peyton Watson from the Nuggets, per @TheSteinLine.

I would list AJ Green and Kevin Porter Jr. as names that could interest Denver if the two sides engage in trade discussions centered on the 23-year-old wing.
— Jake Weinbach (@JWeinbachNBA) July 14, 2026

There's also the fact that forward Kyle Kuzma has been linked to potential trade ideas and he could possibly be involved with his expiring contract.

If the Bucks do decide to strongly pursue Watson, his addition would add depth at the forward position, and a player who would bring an immediate impact on the defensive end to round out the roster.

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