Denver Nuggets have offered Peyton Watson a five-year, $70 million contract..

The Athletic's senior NBA reporter Tony Jones, exclusively reported on Thursday that the Denver Nuggets have offered unrestricted free agent Peyton Watson a five-year, $70 million contract in an effort to retain the player.

According to the report, the Nuggets offered Watson an annual average of $14 million per year, but the player's agent was not satisfied with the offer. Watson is seeking a higher salary, hoping to surpass the five-year, $125 million contract previously signed by his teammate Christian Braun.

In fact, the Nuggets have always highly valued Watson, who is about to sign his second contract.

Because the Nuggets decided to match the Oklahoma City Thunder's offer for Spencer Jones, their total salary cap is currently in the second-apron bracket.

According to inside sources, the Denver Nuggets are attempting to trade one or two contracts to lower their total salary cap to the second-apron, thereby freeing up enough salary cap space to retain Watson.

On the other hand, several teams have proposed sign-and-trade deals, including the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Clippers, and Atlanta Hawks, but the Nuggets' asking price has remained high so far.

Watson had a breakout season in 2025/26. He averaged nearly 15 points per game and performed exceptionally well in the 16 games that three-time MVP Nikola Jokić missed due to injury.

During this spell, Watson's ball-handling skills improved, and his shooting percentage increased significantly, making him one of the Nuggets' most athletic players. Losing Watson would be a huge blow to the Nuggets.

With players like Aaron Gordon approaching the end of their careers (he will be 31 next season), retaining him becomes increasingly important, especially since the Nuggets haven't reached the NBA Finals since winning the 2023 championship.

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