The Nuggets Should Stay Silent at the NBA Trade Deadline

Christian Braun and Cameron Johnson don’t fall far from the same tree. Braun has only played 14 games so far, and Johnson went down back on Dec. 23. That said, both are players Denver has recently put trust into.

Braun inked a five-year extension last year while Johnson replaced fan favorite Michael Porter Jr. in the offseason. Braun, battling an ankle issue, has no timetable for return, while Johnson is hopeful to be cleared by the All-Star break.

Core Bench Roles

The floodgate of injuries broke in November. Since then, different bench players have gotten their fair share of started games and increased minutes. Any trades within this hybrid group of Denver newcomers and homegrown players would feel unseemly.

Tim Hardaway Jr., Jonas Valanciunas, and Bruce Brown all offer a diverse set of tools. All three do have short-term contracts, and any or all of them could all be gone after a season or two. However, this trio off the bench would lack balance if one were to depart.

Brown has Denver’s championship DNA from the 2022-23 season. Hardaway Jr. is top 10 in the league this year in three-pointers made off the bench. And Valanciunas has been the Jokic backup that the team has been seeking for years.

Spencer Jones and Jalen Pickett would need to be part of a no-brainer trade for the Nuggets to justify shipping them away as well. Both have played their entire careers in Denver and have had moments to blossom this season. Pickett has proved he can play point guard when Murray is out, and Jones has stepped up mightily in Johnson’s absence. Neither will blow up the stat sheet, but both remain vital to the team’s confidence and competitiveness.

Who Could the Nuggets Trade?

Lastly, if one player is to get traded, although ill-advised, it would be 23-year-old Peyton Watson.

Watson has been upgrading every facet of his game with his opportunities in the starting lineup. He’s improved every shooting percentage metric from the 2024-25 season, notably increasing his makes from beyond the arc by 7%. He’s rebounding more, assisting more, and being more aggressive with the ball. And, he has almost doubled his points per game rate from 8.1 last year to an even 15 in 2025-26.

Denver paid Braun, who came just nine picks earlier than Watson in the 2022 NBA Draft. Watson’s showing the organization that he can play Mile High basketball, that he can start, and that he can help the team win. While he should be next in line for a payday, if Denver were to deal one player away, the signs point to him.

The Peyton Watson Dilemma

It’s attractive to teams that Watson’s under no long-term contract and playing the best basketball of his life. The compensation for Watson is similarly the highest of his career, so the Nuggets have a decision to make. They can either lock him down and pay him for the future or let him walk as soon as next summer.

He’s a restricted free agent once the season concludes, meaning he’ll get offers from other teams. Although the Nuggets have a chance to match them. If he continues on the trajectory of increased production, that number on the check will grow in tandem. Denver is in a good spot financially after dumping the $180 million Porter Jr. contract in the Johnson trade. However, if they fear his asking price is too high this offseason, they could trade him now and get a strong package in return.

All in all, the Nuggets have an NBA Finals core that would bleed if anybody left. From Jokic to Pickett, there is a different level of cohesion with this year’s squad. Before any NBA team calls Denver for the trade, they also need to remember they’ve largely seen this team shorthanded.

The best 2025-26 basketball at Mile High is yet to be written.