Nuggets Might Need to Make a Change After Latest Peyton Watson Admission

After his trade to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Peyton Watson opened up about his concerning situation with the Denver Nuggets.

Mar 27, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Peyton Watson (8) after making a basket during the second half against the Utah Jazz at Ball Arena. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Denver Nuggets traded Peyton Watson to the Cleveland Cavaliers this offseason, and many fans are already dreading a new season without the 23-year-old wing. Watson broke out as a rising two-way star last season, but his absence was felt in the playoffs, as he missed all six games against the Minnesota Timberwolves due to a hamstring strain.

There has been plenty of talk this summer about Watson's agency making him sit out the playoffs because of his pending free agency. While there could still be some truth to that, Watson claims that his situation was worse by the playoffs because the Nuggets' staff was trying to rush him back from injury.

"It was really, really tough, the entire process of my rehab. Obviously, when I got injured in New York, it was just a sickening feeling because I was up to win Most Improved and up for a lot of stuff. It really hurt. Two or three weeks into my rehab, I felt like they were ramping me back up too quickly, but at the same time, I know that I'm young, and I do heal pretty fast," Watson said on Michael Porter Jr.'s Curious Mike podcast.

In a snippet from the Curious Mike podcast, Peyton Watson says he felt a little rushed while recovering from hamstring strains last season. Full episode drops tomorrow morning. pic.twitter.com/hr1puX3f65

— Vinny Benedetto (@VBenedetto) August 31, 2026

Watson's late-season setback

Watson initially suffered a hamstring strain on February 4 against the New York Knicks, which ultimately led to a 19-game absence before he returned on March 22 against the Portland Trail Blazers. However, his return was short-lived. Hamstring strains are very tricky, as the Nuggets clearly learned last season with both Watson and Aaron Gordon dealing with them.

By rushing him back initially, Watson's return to action only lasted five games before he re-aggravated his hamstring on March 1 against the Utah Jazz. Just five games until the playoffs, Watson suffered the same injury that previously sidelined him for 19 games. Yet the Nuggets then expected him to return from this injury during their first-round playoff series.

"Like two or three weeks into my hamstring rehab, like I was out there playing with the coaches and I just felt a little tweak," Watson continued. "And I felt like that was kind of a minor setback that I didn't really want to accept. I remember feeling pressure to get back and get some games under my belt to warm up before the playoffs. I remember going out there in one of the last games of the season versus Utah and re-injuring my hamstring.

"I feel like we kind of rushed it and didn't take the right approach. I remember going into the playoffs, and I just didn't feel healthy."

Mar 22, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Peyton Watson (8) smiles before the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Ball Arena. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In hindsight, the Nuggets would've been much better off giving Watson more time to recover to make sure he was closer to 100% in time for the playoffs, rather than risking another injury just weeks before.

Do the Nuggets need to make changes to the medical staff?

Last season, the Nuggets were derailed by injuries. Watson, Gordon, Nikola Jokic, Christian Braun, and Cameron Johnson all had long stints of injury absences, and moving forward, the team cannot afford another season like that.

Not shocked because we have one of the worst training and medical staffs in the NBA https://t.co/59DbmNa7ES

— SleeperNuggets (@SleeperNuggets) August 31, 2026

With Watson coming clean about his experience with the Nuggets' staff last season and how they approached his hamstring injury, it might be time for the franchise to make changes.

Hopefully Watson's situation was a wake-up call for the Nuggets' organization, but it's not like this is the first time this has happened. The Nuggets have been criticized in the past for rushing players back from injury, as we have seen with Gordon multiple times. Of course, fans want the players back on the court as much as anybody, but it gets to a point where the Nuggets need to keep their guys healthy.

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