And-Ones: Offseason Moves, Cap Situations, EuroLeague, Buss Bros.

While the Nuggets have faced some criticism for losing Peyton Watson in free agency this summer, John Hollinger of The Athletic believes Denver’s front office did a good job with the hand it was dealt.

Past roster missteps essentially made it impossible for the Nuggets to re-sign Watson without paying a massive luxury tax bill, but Hollinger likes the fact that the club acquired the Cavaliers’ 2031 first-round pick in the sign-and-trade deal sending the restricted free agent wing to Cleveland. As Hollinger points out, that will allow Denver to trade a valuable “most favorable” 2031 pick at some point, whereas the team didn’t previously have the ability to trade its own ’31 first-rounder due to the Stepien rule.

Within the same article, Hollinger outlines a few more under-the-radar moves he liked this offseason, including the Pistons’ roster tweaks and the Rockets’ backcourt additions.

We have more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

• Which five NBA teams have the worst salary cap situations in 2026/27 and beyond? Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report shares his thoughts on the subject, placing the Nuggets atop his list, followed by the Magic, Clippers, Lakers, and Cavaliers. Pincus’ rankings take into account each team’s draft capital, since a lack of draft picks results in fewer avenues to shed unwanted contracts.
• EuroLeague CEO Chus Bueno told Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic that the EuroLeague still hadn’t received a formal proposal from the NBA about a potential collaboration or merger as of late last week. Bueno and the EuroLeague’s team owners would welcome a firm proposal and would “evaluate it carefully,” he told Vorkunov. “(EuroLeague and NBA officials) have both publicly stated that we believe collaboration is the best way to grow basketball in Europe,” Bueno said, “and I think there is a shared understanding that the European basketball ecosystem can create more value by working together rather than fragmenting the market.”
• Joey Buss and Jesse Buss have an exclusive negotiating window until the end of November to purchase the French team ASVEL from former NBA star Tony Parker, according to Aris Barkas of Eurohoops. Reporting in August indicated that the Buss brothers were in talks to invest in ASVEL, which has been dealing with financial difficulties this year.
• In an interesting story for The Houston Chronicle, Varun Shankar details how the G League is a developmental league for NBA executives, not just players, highlighting a handful of young execs who have gotten the opportunity to take on general manager jobs at the NBAGL level.