Nuggets' Asking Price for Peyton Watson May Put Stop to Sign-And-Trade

As the Denver Nuggets have been stuck at a stand-still when it comes to finding a new deal for their restricted free agent forward Peyton Watson, there's been increasing buzz surrounding whether they'd consider a potential sign-and-trade deal with another interested team.

Instead of deciding to sign Watson to a new deal, potentially being north of $25 million in annual value, a sign-and-trade situation could allow the Nuggets to take a different approach. Denver could get assets in return for Watson, avoid paying him a hefty second contract, and move forward with more flexibility financially and in terms of assets.

However, it seems as if the Nuggets' asking price for Watson in a sign-and-trade could put a halt to that idea altogether––because they're requesting a good chunk of assets in exchange for their two-way forward.

Nuggets' Asking Price on Peyton Watson Remains High

According to NBA insider Jake Fischer on The Stein Line, while the Los Angeles Clippers have been among the teams to express interest in being a potential suitor for Watson in a sign-and-trade deal, Denver's ask of a package similar to that of the Utah Jazz's return for Walker Kessler has been too high for the Clippers to "deeply consider."

"Sources with knowledge of the talks told me Thursday that the Nuggets' sign-and-trade asking price has to this juncture been too steep for the Clippers to deeply consider," Fischer wrote. "Sources maintain that the Nuggets are seeking compensation on par with what Utah received from the Lakers in their recent sign-and-trade swap that made Walker Kessler a Laker."

From the Nuggets' perspective, it tends to make sense as to why they'd have such a high price on a Watson trade, because they face a pretty similar situation that the Jazz just found themselves in with Kessler.

Watson and Kessler are both top-tier restricted free agents on the market facing a price in terms of contract asks that their respective teams have been hesitant to pay out. However, considering how crucial those two are to their teams' success, a sign-and-trade deal would have to really be worth their while to consider pulling the trigger.

Mar 22, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Peyton Watson (8) reacts in the first quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Jazz miraculously found that aspired trade package for Kessler.

The LA Lakers were desperate to get their hands on a center of the future for Luka Doncic, showed they were willing to pay a premium contractually and in terms of draft assets to acquire him, and Utah made the daring decision to part ways with their defensive anchor for two unprotected first-round picks and two pick swaps.

The Nuggets, understandably, want the same type of package for Watson. But to find a team in a similar situation as the Lakers' with the right desperation, assets, and willingness to offer up a steep contract that Denver isn't willing to match is much easier said than done. The Clippers, to this point, haven't been willing to meet that mark.

So for now, we still remain in a bit of a standoff between the Nuggets and Watson. Denver values Watson too much to part ways with him for anything less than a substantial return, but also don't want to give him the expensive contract that he's asking for, which has reportedly been higher than what they just paid out to Christian Braun: five years, $125 million, and an AAV of $25 million.

As to when we'll find out what the resolution ends up being remains to be seen. Though if Watson is inevitably shipped out of Denver in a sign-and-trade, don't expect it to be anything close to a pennies-on-the-dollar type of deal.

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