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Mock Trade Sends Nuggets' Peyton Watson to Kings for Former Lottery Pick

Originally posted on Athlon Sports
By Nathaniel Holloway | Last updated Aug 31, 2025 12:06 AM ET

After being eliminated in the second round of the playoffs for the second consecutive season last year, the Denver Nuggets felt that it was time to make some changes to their roster around their core of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon.

Denver began the offseason by making a shocking trade with the Brooklyn Nets that saw them exchange Michael Porter Jr. and a 2032 first-round pick for Cameron Johnson.

By making this move, the Nuggets not only added a three-point sharpshooting forward to their starting lineup but also freed up enough cap space to sign Bruce Brown and Tim Hardway Jr. in free agency and also acquire Jonas Valanciunas from the Sacramento Kings.

With these moves, many around the NBA expect the Nuggets to be the biggest threat to the Oklahoma City Thunder this season.

Nuggets predicted to send Peyton Watson to Kings for Devin Carter

Despite this, the Nuggets still have a few holes to fill in their roster and a recent mock trade released by Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley would help them do just that.

In the trade, the Nuggets would send Peyton Watson to the Kings for Devin Carter and a 2027 second-round pick.

For Denver, they are in desperate need of a backup point guard behind Murray after they let Russell Westbrook walk in free agency and adding Carter would give them a solid young backup guard that showed flashes of being a key role player during his rookie season.

Of course, Carter’s rookie season was an up-and-down one as he played in only 36 games after missing the start of the season due to offseason shoulder surgery.

In those 36 games, the 23-year-old guard averaged 3.8 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game while shooting 37.0% from the field and 29.5% from three.

Carter does need to improve his shooting numbers as he continues to develop on the offensive side but he makes up for it on defense as he is a great defender, which he proved last season with the Kings.

Despite this, the Nuggets would have to move a key player in Watson who is coming off the best season of his NBA career, though swapping him for Carter would allow them to fill their void at the backup point guard position.

While that may be the case, Carter still has a ton of developing left to do, especially on the offensive end and with Denver looking to make a run at a title this season, they may be better off adding a veteran guard to come off the bench behind Murray.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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