sounds like a problem for next year

Watson is probably better but it’s close.

He’s definitely not so much better that it’s worth paying $179,000,000 in tax this year, being well above the 2nd apron, and having to fill out the roster with pretty much minimums and and a tax payer MLE for the foreseeable future.

Hell I wouldn’t even say Watson is worth two times as much in the difference in salary without all those considerations.

I mean, I’m not sure if DJJ/Dunn push you over the edge against the Spurs or OKC. Just sharing my perspective:

• Like I said from the beginning, I’m not sure if I’m missing something from Watson. I think he showed immense flashes this season, but I’m skeptical to fully buy into low sample sizes as the new norm.
  
• If you firmly believe that Watson is in fact the version of him we saw this season (14/5/2 on 49/41/73 splits, 2 stocks, etc.) then totally this is stupid. But the Nuggets should know better than anyone that paying a guy $25M+ for one great season is a huge risk. If Watson regresses, then Jokic’s window with the Nuggets is likely done. Nobody is going to touch Watson or Braun’s contract without leveraging more assets, and you aren’t going to be getting good players for either of them. There’s real risk here for the Nuggets.
• DJJ is good. Ever since he hit his stride in Dallas, he’s been a superior player to Watson outside of that ~20-30 game stretch this year. He’s proven to be an elite defender who has guarded the opposition’s best every game he plays for LAC. He’s a true 1-³⁄₄ defender with elite help defense and complimentary offensive skills that Jokic will be able to capitalize on.
  
• Dunn is basically a specialist who provides good depth. He’s an amazing defensive playmaker who isn’t a complete nothing on offense. Obviously he’s not a huge plus on offense, but he makes 3s at a decent rate when he’s wide open, is a good FT shooter, and can still take ball pressure off as we’ve seen him do. All of this while being likely a Top 5 POA defender is valuable.
• I can understand THJ > Dunn, but THJ over DJJ “easily” is a stupid take. The second THJ isn’t knocking down shots, he’s not valuable. DJJ is the exact type of player you want on a contender because he does enough on offense and is legitimately a great defender. McDaniels called out the Nuggets for their shit defense, and guys like DJJ/Dunn legitimately change that.

Overall, you’re putting a ton of stock on Watson to not only be who he was but grow as a player. A team like LAC has the leeway to take that bet, because if he sucks, they weren’t doing anything to begin with. This is basically your last gamble as the Nuggets, and there’s a chance that DJJ is equally as impactful as Watson to winning right now.

Dunn sure, but DJJ is not getting played off the floor lol

The nuggets absolutely need another high end player not more depth.  Obviously I don’t know if Watson is that player with the small sample size but they cant just rely on Gordon to be the 3rd guy anymore.  Depth would help for sure but they need some other game changer that isn’t just Murray and Jokic that teams have to worry about cause the wolves weren’t worried about Johnson Braun and the bench at all.

Yeah because our bench is full of sharpshooters otherwise

The 116M offer yes, but he said if they clear cap space they can offer him an offer sheet with straight cap space and not a sign and trade as well.

There seems to be two paths for the clippers to acquire Peyton, sign and trade for a higher contract for Peyton & keep Mathurin, or sign for a lower amount that’s still within his 20M asking price range, but no Mathurin

Nobody is willing to pay \(150 million a year for a player on a \)25 million a year contract lol. If they were willing to pay him, they would have signed him already.

I mean, they can sign him to whatever they want if they’re willing to pay the heavy luxury tax. They need to trade Braun or Cam Johnson to sign Watson and avoid the luxury tax.

This is the math after waiving Jonas?

After signing rui they would need to shed salary to do that.

You still cant use that to offer a contract to a free agent, it has to a be a sign and trade. So nuggets have all the leverage

But the Nuggets would have to agree

I’m just saying that’s probably why they are willing to work out a deal. 200M bc of Watson is a lot of $

You can’t use cap space and the Nontaxpayer or Taxpayer MLE in the same offseason – you have to renounce the MLE to use the cap space

I don’t really think the 2nd apron is even their biggest issue right now. They could spend a year in the 2nd apron. But even if they do, next summer things don’t get any better for them. They’ll have $30 million something to fill out like 8 roster spots with nothing but a tax payer MLE and minimums.

Now that I can’t argue for or against lol. It’ll depend on what the front office prioritizes.

I’m just sharing the possible pathways that I’ve seen, trying to look this confusing shit up 😂😂

I think you’re severely downplaying some of the players LA could offer.

Derrick Jones Jr. is on an expiring deal and would likely take ~$11M AAV to re-sign. He’d be a seamless fit next to Jamal Murray as a starter and a POA defender (something Denver doesn’t really have). He was an 89th percentile defender last season according to EPM.

Kris Dunn is also on an expiring ($5.5M) and was in the 91st and 97th percentile in defense the last two years. He’d be cheap to re-sign as well.

You’re not getting Cam Christie or Bogdan Bogdanovic here. These are real players.