Kings Land Defensive Specialist in NBA Trade Idea with Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets and Sacramento Kings couldn’t have had more different seasons. Denver was just eliminated by one of the best teams in the history of the NBA, one game short of the conference finals, while the Kings can barely say they played a postseason game.

While the gap between the two teams is massive, part of the cruelness of the NBA is that now both teams will have to watch from afar as a new champion is crowned. With Oklahoma City, Minnesota, New York, and Indiana all led by stars in their prime (or even before), even the 2023 champion Nuggets will have an uphill battle to stay competitive.

With Jamal Murray making almost $52 million per year on average, Nikola Jokic at $55 million, and Michael Porter Jr. at nearly $36 million, Denver will need to be creative if they are going to be able to bring in enough pieces to compete with the aforementioned conference finalists.

The Nuggets will likely shop MPJ, but his injury history and contract will be hard to stomach for many teams around the league. If the Nuggets can’t find any takers for Porter Jr., who else might they look to move?

Even though both teams had their seasons ended earlier than they had hoped, the Kings are in a much worse spot than the Nuggets. An NBA analyst even recently named the Kings as the lottery team in the worst position out of the 14 included, despite having control over many of their draft picks and a talented roster.

That rating all boils down to having an extremely unbalanced roster and two expensive stars who haven’t proven they can excel together. The Kings definitely need some big moves, but sometimes improving along the margins is just as important when your financial situation is less than ideal.

pic.twitter.com/onztq8GDRt
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) May 12, 2025

One move that might make sense for both teams centers around Peyton Watson. Watson is only 22 and has already shown a ton of promise for Denver, but he is in the last year of his rookie deal, along with Christian Braun, who is much more likely to be extended.

Moving Watson now could bring back another asset that Denver can use to help move MPJ and bring in a two-way wing that can help Jokic keep the championship window open. With no chance at a second-round pick until 2028, acquiring a tradable second could be very useful for Denver.

Sacramento Kings receive: Peyton Watson

Denver Nuggets receive: 2025 second-round pick (#42)

Apr 4, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Peyton Watson (8) questions the referee during a game against the Golden State Warriors in the third period at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images | David Gonzales-Imagn Images

Above is an example of what a trade for Watson might look like for Sacramento and Denver. For Denver, this allows them to trade an expiring contract for a real asset that gives them some increased flexibility for the rest of the offseason. For Sacramento, this gives them a tested wing that they know is capable of playing real NBA minutes instead of another developing two-way player.

As much as it is important to value players like Isaac Jones, Isaiah Crawford, and Mason Jones, they’re all older than Watson and still have a lot of time before they’re ready to play rotational minutes. Of course, there’s always a chance you select a player better than Watson in the second round, like Jokic or Jalen Brunson, but those kinds of anomalies are getting rarer.

Watson has yet to show much on offense, but he brings a lot on defense that the Kings could really use. Watson is one of the league’s best wing shot blockers, averaging 1.4 per game on only 24 minutes a night. In fact, Watson averaged the same amount of blocks per game as Rudy Gobert this season while giving up about 6 inches. At roughly 6-foot-8 with a ton of athleticism, Watson can do a lot more than just block shots.

Peyton Watson's defense on De'Aaron Fox has been EXCELLENT pic.twitter.com/vVLwcbFXzD
— Matt Brooks (@MattBrooksNBA) December 17, 2024

Watson is definitely not a knockdown shooter from deep, but 35% shouldn’t scare off a Kings team that only had Malik Monk, Keegan Murray, and DeMar DeRozan all shoot at a worse clip on the year.

There’s no doubt the Kings need better shooting, but adding a player who excels at cutting without the ball could be extremely important for a team with multiple ball-dominant players in its starting five.

HUGE shot from MPJ

This cut from Peyton Watson makes it all happen pic.twitter.com/FMI2eSdCcT
— Matt Brooks (@MattBrooksNBA) March 27, 2025

Watson won’t suddenly make the Kings contenders, but his defense and athleticism would be welcomed on a team looking to find a way back into the playoffs. After years of the Kings refusing to make small margin moves, sending out a second-round pick for Watson seems like a risk worth taking, especially since he fits perfectly into a $4.4M trade exception.

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