Could the Next OG Anunoby Be Walking Out of Denver? Nuggets Face Costly Decision
The New York Knicks made history this past week, defeating the San Antonio Spurs 4-1 to win the franchise’s first NBA championship since 1973.
The defining moment of the entire series came in Game 4, when the Knicks came back from 29 points down and won 107-106 on OG Anunoby’s tip-in with just 1.2 seconds left in the game. Anunoby finished with 33 points that night. Jalen Brunson added 36, and head coach Mike Brown called it “the most iconic shot in the history of New York basketball.”
Throughout the postseason, Anunoby was an absolute monster. He averaged 20.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game, shot 56.1% from the field and 48.9% from deep. The Knicks leaned on his two-way dominance throughout the playoffs, and had it not been for Brunson’s 45-point performance in Game 5, Anunoby probably would have won Finals MVP. Without him, they wouldn’t be holding up the trophy right now.
Enter Peyton Watson.
On Wednesday, June 17, CBS Sports analyst Sam Quinn dropped his top-40 free agent rankings, slotting Watson at No. 6 overall, and drawing a direct comparison to the Knicks’ newly crowned champion.
“He is not as accomplished as players below him on this list. He’s injury-prone and pretty unproven on the highest levels. But he’s young, athletic, and coming off a monster year in which he averaged just shy of 15 points on over 41% 3-point shooting in the biggest role he’s ever played,” Quinn wrote about Watson.
“If we again treat New York as a notable model here, the wing-heavy Knicks relied heavily on OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges to win their title. The hope is that Watson could grow into such a player on his next deal.”
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Watson, a 6-foot-9, 200-pound wing, just completed a breakout 2025-26 campaign with the Denver Nuggets, averaging 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.1 blocks, and 0.9 steals in 29.6 minutes per game, shooting 49.1% from the floor and 41.1% from deep.
Ever since the Nuggets drafted him No. 30 overall in 2022, Watson’s minutes have increased every season, and he’s only gotten better with the more opportunities he’s been given. And he’s still just 23 years old.
So why wouldn’t Denver want to keep him? Well, they probably do, but the math is brutal. Nikola Jokic earns nearly $59 million next season, and Jamal Murray sits around $50 million. That’s $109 million combined before you even get to Aaron Gordon’s roughly $32 million, Cameron Johnson’s $23 million, or Christian Braun’s $21.5 million. Toss in Watson at Bobby Marks’ projection of four years and $90 million, that’s $22.5 million a year, and Denver is staring down a payroll well over $200 million.
League sources have already identified the Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls, and Brooklyn Nets as three teams with the cap space to present an offer sheet the Nuggets would struggle to match. Both the Lakers and Bulls showed interest around the trade deadline in February, and with free agency set to start on July 1, both franchises are expected to come calling.
Watson is still a restricted free agent, so Denver can match whatever offer he receives. But if competing teams believe Watson could develop into the type of player Anunoby just proved wins championships, the market could heat up quickly.
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This story was originally published June 18, 2026 at 9:12 PM.