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The Lakers Review: Jake Fischer during his live stream for Bleacher Report today stated the Lakers’ inability to trade for Keon Ellis - whom the team wanted - is an “indicator” to him that they’re not going to be “super aggressive” trying to find perimeter help. He reiterated their desire to maintain cap space for the summer and named Peyton Watson, Bennedict Mathurin, and Tari Eason as potential players they could target amongst other wings that may become available. Jake also mentioned “definitively, the Lakers are ready to move on from LeBron James and I think LeBron James is ready to move on from the Lakers as well. That’s kind of the foregone sentiment in Los Angeles right now about what’s to come this summer.”
Brendan Vogt: Peyton Watson said he aspires to be one of the best two-way players in the league. Then he said: “I feel like I’m emerging as one of the best two-way players in the league, to be honest.”
It must be said, though, that rival executives are increasingly curious about Denver's likely struggles to retain Peyton Watson this summer given the fourth-year swingman's recent breakout play amid all of the Nuggets' health woes. We'll certainly be tracking this situation over the coming months, since Watson's restricted free agency is already shaping up to become a major domino of the offseason. Sources say teams that are projected to have cap space — notably such as the Lakers — are already preparing interest.
Vinny Benedetto: Aaron Gordon is out for tomorrow’s game in Memphis with a right hamstring strain. Nikola Jokic, Christian Braun and Cam Johnson remain out. Jamal Murray, Peyton Watson and Jonas Valanciunas are questionable again.
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Vinny Benedetto: Aaron Gordon is good to go. Jamal Murray, Jonas Valanciunas and Peyton Watson are out tonight, the Nuggets announce.
Vinny Benedetto: Final: Nuggets 107, Wizards 97. Denver avoids the first three-game losing streak of the season behind a career night from Peyton Watson (35-8-3-2-4 on 10-16 FG, 6-8 3PT). Jamal Murray scores 19 of his 24 after halftime. Jonas Valanciunas posts 16 and 8 in 22 minutes in his return.
Watson has drawn significant interest on the trade market, but the Nuggets have rebuffed trade calls on the 23-year-old swingman and want to re-sign him in restricted free agency this summer, league sources told HoopsHype.
“At the end of the day, it’s hard. It’s a hard adjustment, going from being the sixth or seventh man off the bench, right, to being the second option,” Watson told The Denver Post recently while Aaron Gordon was also out. “That’s something that I’m adjusting to. And I’ve done really well at a lot of things, and there are some areas where I need to improve. … I love the responsibility and everything that comes with it. You want to blame it on me when we lose and give me the credit when we win — that’s fine.”
Nonetheless, Watson’s green light has been a worthy exercise for the Nuggets. As the rest of their lineup regains health, the Nuggets will be faced with a balancing act — to scale back Watson’s role an appropriate amount while also integrating his on-ball skillset to the offense in ways that it hadn’t been previously. “I think it’s just part of the NBA. We have not had that conversation,” coach David Adelman said in New Orleans. “I think what will happen is, as guys come back and the minutes go up and the restrictions are off certain people, we’ll have to feel out who we are as a team again. And that’ll be, we know we have something new with Peyton that he’s been able to do. And then you just add it to the package of guys that have come off the bench, are in the rotation. And I have to look back at these games and see what actually works. A lot of this stuff was patchwork as we went. Out-of-timeout plays. Just trying to get them in spots where they can be successful. And we’ve found some things."
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NBA Communications: Denver Nuggets guard-forward Peyton Watson and Toronto Raptors forward-guard Scottie Barnes have been named the NBA Western and Eastern Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for Week 12 of the 2025-26 season (Jan. 5-11).
NBA Updates: No Jokic, no Gordon, no Braun, no problem! Peyton Watson scored 24 PTS and the Nuggets got a solid win over the Raptors, 106-103, despite being down 4 starters! Watson: 24 Pts, 7 Reb, 2 Stl Murray: 21 Pts, 7 Reb, 6 Ast Ingram: 30 Pts,8 Reb,6 3PM Quickley: 22 Pts, 3 Reb, 4 Ast
Bennett Durando: Nikola Jokic's teammates have habit of saying they're unsurprised by his feats, but Peyton Watson says tonight: "I'm tired of not being surprised. That shit surprised me, bro. We can't continue to just dismiss what this guy does on a night-to-night basis. Bro, it's unbelievable."
As the Mavericks sent four defenders his way on the last possession, Jokic made the read and kicked the ball to the corner. Peyton Watson got a wide-open look at the buzzer, but the three-pointer didn't fall. "I kind of offered myself in a little pocket area. I turned around, and I got what was kind of behind [Caleb] Martin, and I saw Peyton in the corner. I think it was a really good shot. It didn't go in," the Serbian superstar said after the game. "I think it's the right play to do, and I will do it again," Jokic added.
