Just like the LA Clippers, the Denver Nuggets are hungry for Peyton Watson’s services and the leap he’s set to make next season. How could either team not be? Watson was phenomenal on both ends of the court last season. But if the Nuggets do end up signing him to a $25 million-per-year contract, which is what the youngster desires, following the waiving of Jonas Valanciunas, they’ll be penalized by $177 million under the repeater tax, according to ESPN's Bobby Marks.
According to @BobbyMarks42,
— Vic Lombardi (@VicLombardi) July 6, 2026
if the @nuggets simply waived Valanciunis and then signed Peyton Watson to a $25 million/year contract, they would get hit with a tax penalty of $177 million dollars.
That’s the cost of the repeater tax.
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY SEVEN MILLION.
Yes. You read that correctly. And, because the expense of bringing Watson back is ridiculously high, the Clippers’ front office is basically in a race with no one else in it.
All they have to do is identify the exact path to add him while also re-signing Bennedict Mathurin, whom they desperately want in the team's future.
The Nuggets would be foolish to re-sign Peyton Watson under the current circumstances
Although he is held in high regard by the Nuggets’ front office, as they seem willing, up until this point, to try their best to retain him, the answer to the question, “Is Peyton Watson worth the financial consequences he will bring to Denver?” is most definitely no. There's no way around it.
He did average an efficient 14.6 points and 4.9 rebounds, but only a select few players are worth coughing up $177 million for, plus the salaries the Nuggets would owe, and Watson isn’t there yet.
If Denver went through with securing Watson for the figure he wants anyway, while knowing the cost, they would be fools. At that point, they should expect everyone to laugh at their poor money management.
Thus, time is the only factor that stands in the way of Watson being announced as the newest member of the LA Clippers. And, of course, Clipper Nation is eagerly waiting for the news to drop.
Watson would become a pivotal piece to the Clippers’ young core alongside Keaton Wagler, as well as Darius Garland, and that’s something he will surely not complain about.
In fact, Watson may have the strong desire to go to LA, and might’ve signed by now if he weren’t an unrestricted free agent, as he grew up in Long Beach, California, then proceeded to attend UCLA as a one-and-done prospect.
That said, signs point to the Clippers picking up Watson. It makes sense for both sides, even if the Nuggets want him extremely badly.
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