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Nuggets Receive Harsh Offseason Grade Following Recent Moves

Jan 27, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Peyton Watson (8) reacts in the fourth quarter against the Detroit Pistons at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Nuggets Receive Harsh Offseason Grade Following Recent Moves

Originally posted on Denver Nuggets on SI | By Jared Koch | Last updated Jul 14, 2026 5:00 PM ET

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The Denver Nuggets' offseason, to this point, has remained pretty quiet when comparing it to the moves other teams have made around the league in recent weeks.

They've signed a couple of new faces in free agency with Marvin Bagley and Alpha Diallo from the EuroLeague, re-signed Tyus Jones, and still have yet to come to a resolution on either Peyton Watson or Spencer Jones' future. They've also let go of both Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jonas Valanciunas.

So to call the Nuggets' offseason pretty underwhelming would probably be a pretty fair statement. But just how would Denver's moves within the past few weeks be evaluated in terms of a letter grade?

In the eyes of The Athletic's Zach Harper, not very good.

Nuggets Land Near-Failing Offseason Grade From The Athletic

Harper gave out a grade of a "D-" to the Nuggets for how they've approached their offseason thus far, which happens to be the lowest of any team within their collection of evaluations.

"If they end up keeping Peyton Watson, it’ll probably be a C. But this team is replacing Jonas Valančiūnas with Marvin Bagley III, and the Nuggets don’t have a replacement for Tim Hardaway Jr. For now, they’re back to having depth issues," Harper wrote.

It's tough to argue with Harper's judgement, because when looking around the league, not many teams have had a less inspiring past few weeks than what Denver's put together.

And sure, the Nuggets don't have a ton of flexibility to work with in terms of both assets and cap space. So they entered this summer already at a disadvantage when compared to other teams.

Their chest of future picks is pretty barren from recent moves made through their past few offseasons and drafts, and they're strapped down with their current contracts on the books that prevent them from offering any more than minimum contracts without making any other moves.

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Regardless, the talks surrounding how Denver could ultimately shake up their roster entering the offseason and the unpredictability they had in store were vast.

Whether that focused on a blockbuster trade to send out Jamal Murray or Aaron Gordon, or a more minor deal involving Cameron Johnson and Christian Braun, rumors were widespread.

And instead, the Nuggets have taken a more conservative approach––to the point where they haven't even brought back their two biggest pending free agents, Watson and Jones, and have no guarantees that either is returning.

That quiet offseason was always at least a possibility for Denver. Team president Josh Kroenke even hinted at the idea that the Nuggets could simply run it back for the coming season after suffering their first-round exit to the Minnesota Timberwolves, but the true likelihood of that remained to be determined.

Yet, now two weeks deep into free agency, the Nuggets' moves haven't exactly pushed them anywhere closer to a championship from where they were ending last season.

In fact, they might be even further away from where they once were because of the depth they've lost, which is headlined by the departure of their Sixth Man of the Year candidate, Hardaway Jr., and that could stray even further depending on what's to come with Watson and Jones' free agency situations.

If they deal Watson in a sign-and-trade, or simply lose Jones for nothing to another suitor, it's hard to imagine this roster gets better by doing so, unless the return they get back can roll into another trade to truly improve the roster.

Bottom Line

So maybe the Nuggets have more up their sleeve in the weeks ahead. If they retain both Watson and Jones, and/or make an unexpected trade to shake up this group the way it is now, perhaps their offseason grade is deserving of raising a bit higher than a D-.

But with the information we have on hand, it's hard to give Denver much more than a below-average grade from how they've moved in the past month or so.

This article first appeared on Denver Nuggets on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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