Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Peyton Watson (8) reacts during a timeout in the first quarter against the Atlanta Hawks at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
New Cleveland Cavaliers forward Peyton Watson did not feature for the Denver Nuggets in the 2026 playoffs, and it turns out his agent, Rich Paul, is a reason why. Paul, CEO of Klutch Sports Group, revealed on his Game Over podcast that he had to protect Watson from himself ahead of his restricted free agency.
“So, he was a restricted free agent,” Paul said. “You got to remember, he did not finish the season. He didn’t play in the playoffs. He was dealing with a hamstring injury, soft tissue injury. And when you dealing with those injuries, you have to be very careful in your return. Now, mind you, the playoffs is coming up, guys want to play.
“You have to protect them from themselves in that moment,” Paul continued. “Because you up for a contract and it’s the playoffs, and I’ve had a pretty good year, so I need to play, and it’s important to protect that.”
It appears Watson, who averaged 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.9 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game in 2025-26, wanted to play, but Paul advised him not to. He did not want his client to play through injury and risk missing out on a big payday.
Watson had suffered a right hamstring strain during the Nuggets’ 134-127 double-overtime loss to the New York Knicks on Feb. 4, 2026. The 23-year-old missed 19 games with that hamstring issue and returned to action in the 128-112 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on March 22.
The timing of Watson’s return was ideal for the Nuggets. It looked like he was going to get enough games under his belt to find his rhythm for the playoffs.
Unfortunately for the Nuggets, Watson left the 130-117 win over the Utah Jazz on April 1 with right hamstring tightness. They wouldn’t have known it at the time, but that was his last game as a Nugget.
The Nuggets would finish the 2025-26 season with a 54-28 record, which netted them the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. They faced a familiar foe in the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs, and that series commenced on April 18.
There was no sign of Watson for Game 1 or the Timberwolves’ closeout Game 6 win on April 30. He officially missed the entire series with a right hamstring strain.
Could the Nuggets have taken down the Timberwolves with Watson? Possibly. Watson was one of the Nuggets’ best defenders, and they badly struggled on that end of the floor against the Timberwolves. He also took strides offensively last season and had turned into a fine two-way wing.
Players of that profile are in high demand in the NBA, so Watson was hitting restricted free agency at the right time. He was set to get a big contract from somebody as long as there wasn’t some major injury concern.
So you can understand Paul as an agent not wanting Watson, the No. 30 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, to rush back and play through a soft tissue injury. If he had suffered, let’s say, a grade 3 hamstring tear, teams would have reservations and he could have missed out on millions of dollars.
On the flip side, you can also understand if those within the Nuggets organization are upset about this. If a player is healthy enough to feature, they’d want him to play. You can see both sides.
Watson ended up getting a four-year, $88 million contract from the Cavaliers via a sign-and-trade. All the Nuggets got for him was the Cavaliers’ 2031 first-round pick, the Washington Wizards’ 2032 second-round pick, and Julian Reese, who has been waived. This was a terrible return, and this offseason has turned into a terrible one for the Nuggets.