Spurs are major winners of Denver's shocking Peyton Watson trade

The Nuggets agreed to a multi-team trade that sent Peyton Watson to Cleveland, and in return, they received a couple of draft picks. They likely did this because they're already over the second apron and were unwilling to dig themselves into a deeper financial hole by paying the talented two-way wing.

It's an understandable decision, but one that gives the Spurs a significant advantage. As talented as Nikola Jokic is, he can't do everything himself, and he's not a great defender. He needs others to fill that role to give Denver a shot at being respectable on that end of the floor.

Watson provided that skill set, and for a team like San Antonio with multiple ball handlers, having strong perimeter defenders is a must.

Denver just lost one of its best answers for San Antonio

The Nuggets are trending downward. I'm just going to be blunt here. They were eliminated in the first round by a Timberwolves team that lost Donte DiVincenzo to a torn Achilles in Game 3 and Anthony Edwards to a hyperextension and bone bruise in Game 4.

Nikola Jokic is still a brilliant player, but Rudy Gobert was a legitimate problem for him in that series. The Joker is 31 years old. Could he be slipping out of his prime? Possibly. Regardless, he needs better talent around him if the Nuggets want a chance at winning anything, and getting rid of Watson does the exact opposite of that.

San Antonio is going to exploit Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, Tyus Jones, and Julian Strawther. Those guys are a combination of being either too small or simply not very good defenders. You need those if you're going to stand a chance against Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, and De'Aaron Fox.

Victor Wembanyama is the anchor, but those guys are the initiators, and they're aggressive.

The Nuggets are paying the price for their roster crunch

This is what happens when you don't plan navigation around the CBA's apron rules properly. The Nuggets haven't made any significant signings this offseason. A team that obviously needed to get better is getting worse on purpose because of those penalties.

The move suggests that the front office may believe that, with or without Peyton, they don't have enough to compete with the top teams in the Western Conference. It's hard to know, considering they were without both him and Aaron Gordon for much of that series, though.

Either way, the current reality is that the Nuggets are less of a threat today than they were yesterday. You don't lose one of your four best players and stay the same. That's a huge advantage to the Spurs, who could easily end up in a seven-game series with Denver this season. If that happens, Nikola Jokic is screwed.

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