Friday Faceoff: After trading Peyton Watson, are the Nuggets wasting the Nikola Jokic era?

Mark Kiszla, sports columnist

Answer: Oh, heck yes

The Nuggets have quit. Given up on Peyton Watson. Flushed the Nikola Jokic era down the toilet. Slammed their championship window on the fingers of every loyal fan.

Do I sound mad?

Well, I am mad.

You should be angrier than one of those rage timeouts by Michael Malone that now seem like the good old days for the most mismanaged basketball team on the planet.

When Joker is on your side, it’s hard to mess it up.

But in an offseason when Josh Kroenke said everything was on the table, who knew he’d choose systematically making the team worse? Sure, the Nuggets are stuck in luxury tax hell. But whose fault is that? Did somebody forget to read Kroenke the current collective bargaining agreement that took effect shortly after Denver won the championship back in 2023?

Rather than looking for a creative way out, this front office insists on moving so close to the fire it risks burning the whole thing down, making it way too tempting for Jokic to consider leaving as a free agent in 2027.

There was loose talk, way back in the spring, that Watson was making a business decision not to test a nagging hamstring injury during Denver’s playoff collapse against Minnesota.

That’s frustrating, but not treason. It’s how business in pro sports is done.

The $22 million salary Watson got from Cleveland as Denver got fleeced by the Cavaliers in a sign-and-trade deal is fair market value.

For roughly the same amount of money, the Nuggets retained Cam Johnson. Watson is not only a better player, but more than six years younger.

Make it make sense.

I can’t.

***

Paul Klee, sports editor

Answer: Watson wasn’t the answer, but part of the solution

Take it from someone who remembers watching Nikola Jokic perform the Mikan drill in his first practice as a 20-year-old Nugget: He’s somehow a better human than he is a basketball player.

The Nuggets should thank their lucky stars for that.

Any other NBA superstar would have one foot out the door.

Trading 23-year-old Peyton Watson was inevitable for the Nuggets, whose ownership would have been on the hook for a $220 million tax bill if they matched Cleveland’s contract of $22 million per season. Sports empires like the Kroenkes’ aren’t built on $220 million tax bills.

The Nuggets annually ask Joker to throw on his Superman cape and save the day. They’re banking on his loyalty so he doesn’t fly away one day.

Without pecking at too many old wounds, the first move that cratered Denver’s chances of a real dynasty was letting Tim Connelly walk. All he’s done with the Timberwolves is evict the Nuggets from the playoffs in two of the last three seasons. Better avoid them in 2027, too.

The Avalanche are an evergreen contender thanks in no small part to the salary cap wizards in the front office, namely Andrew Wilson. The Broncos finally got good again after navigating around Russell Wilson’s contract.

College and pro sports are now the revenge of the nerds. The Nuggets put themselves between a rock and a hard place by mismanaging their money.

The Cavaliers will regret the $88 million sent Watson’s way. But stealing from Joker’s prime is a graver sin. This should be a time when Denver is adding, not subtracting.

This painful state of affairs makes it clear the Nuggets were poorly equipped to build around a star of Joker’s magnitude. They’ve never had a player like him. And it shows.