Ben Tenzer and Jon Wallace had taken a measured and conservative approach in the draft. Instead of selecting a player 26th overall, they had traded back nine spots to acquire two future second-round picks, prioritizing asset accumulation over an immediate gamble on late first-round talent. They were walking away with two new rookies, but the real prize was their mini-stash of draft capital. New trade pieces to be used later. Patience for the sake of future aggression.

Meanwhile, it was time to talk about Peyton Watson.

“We feel good about where that’s at,” Tenzer told reporters, reiterating a recent stance. “And we hope Peyton is here a long time.”

As it turned out, Denver’s draft strategy foreshadowed the eventual outcome for Watson, a restricted free agent whose seven-week stalemate with the Nuggets ended in a sign-and-trade to Cleveland on Aug. 19. Denver relinquished the rights to Watson in exchange for a 2031 unprotected first-round pick and a 2032 second-rounder. The Cavaliers signed a four-year, $88 million contract agreement with the 23-year-old wing, who was drafted 30th overall in 2022.

After four years of gradual development and one brilliant month of exploding star potential, Watson’s time in Denver was over. And the Nuggets hadn’t received a player back in the trade, controversially eroding their roster depth ahead of a pivotal 2026-27 season. After feeling out the market, they viewed Cleveland’s first-round pick as a more valuable asset than any player available to them, team sources told The Denver Post. It’s intended as a trade piece to be cashed in well before 2031. Patience for the sake of future aggression.

But what changed between January, when keeping Watson skyrocketed up the Nuggets’ priority list, and August, when their homegrown success story was cut short? Behind the scenes, several factors contributed to the most significant move of Denver’s 2026 offseason — painting a nuanced picture of why the team decided to move on from Watson after a negotiation that was nearly dead on arrival.

“Stan Kroenke is a shark in the water,” as one league source familiar with the sign-and-trade put it. “So is Rich Paul.”

A salary cap crunch

The Nuggets were always prepared for the likelihood that they would lose at least one starter-level player this summer, as The Post previously reported.

The first time they firmly chose a different player over Watson was Oct. 20, 2025. It was the day before a new season tipped off, and the deadline for teams to sign contract extensions with their 2022 draftees. Watson and Christian Braun were entering the final year of their respective rookie-scale contracts. The Nuggets had enough room for only one of them to be added to the 2026-27 payroll. They were anticipating a salary cap crunch, with four starters already under contract and one of them, Aaron Gordon, set for a $9 million raise.

Signing both Braun and Watson would push Denver’s payroll over the projected second apron ($222 million), triggering not only a historic luxury tax bill for owner Stan Kroenke but also a series of roster-building penalties that would render it immensely difficult to negotiate with other teams and make changes. The front office was already concerned by its shortage of trade-eligible draft capital; finishing 2026-27 in the second apron would cause Denver’s 2034 pick to be “frozen” by rule, temporarily forbidden from being traded.

And so it was Braun or Watson. Braun was far more established — a playoff rotation piece on the 2023 championship team, an NBA Most Improved Player candidate in 2025, a durable 15-point-per-game starter. Watson was a work in progress three years into his career, an upside bet whose role on offense remained ambiguous. Was he a secondary ball-handler? A corner spot-up shooter? A dunker spot heir to Gordon? A screener and roller? The Nuggets were hesitant to offer him an average annual value north of $10 million to $12 million at the time.

They focused instead on their negotiations with Braun. With a vote of approval from Nikola Jokic, they signed the guard to a five-year, $125 million deal, planning to take Watson to restricted free agency — a process that traditionally allows teams to squeeze their incumbent young players. The snub left a sour taste for Watson’s camp.

Watson, who had started his career as a client of the same agency as Jokic, geared up for the offseason by hiring new representation: Klutch Sports founder and super-agent Rich Paul, most famous for representing LeBron James. Then came injuries to Jokic, Braun, Gordon and Cam Johnson. Dismal luck for Denver. Opportunity for Watson. He seized it, amassing stats worthy of an All-Star for one tantalizing month: 22 points per game on 49% shooting.

An injury dispute

As Watson erupted, Denver’s offseason outlook shifted. A starter’s salary would need to be sacrificed if the Nuggets were going to re-sign their young wing and stay out of dreaded second-apron territory. Johnson was widely considered most likely to go at first, because of his relatively modest contract commitment: one more year at $23 million.

But the final memory of a crushing playoff defeat in April was that of Johnson amassing 27 points and eight rebounds in a road elimination game, desperate to save Denver’s season. Watson was watching from the bench, ruled out with a lingering right hamstring injury.

Whether he could have played is still disputed.

The injury first emerged in February, during a thriller at Madison Square Garden. Watson limped off the court and underwent an MRI later in the week, revealing a grade 2 strain, according to league sources. Denver announced he would be reevaluated in four weeks. He missed 19 games over a 45-day absence. In a recent appearance on ex-teammate Michael Porter Jr.’s podcast, Watson claimed that he returned too soon. “I feel like we kind of rushed it,” he said, “and didn’t take the right approach.” He reaggravated the hamstring after five games back in the lineup. April 1 in Utah was his last game as a Nugget.

The playoffs arrived, and then they ended, far sooner than Denver had ever expected. A 54-win team crash-landed in the first round against Minnesota. Over the six-game series, Denver never publicly ruled out the possibility that Watson might return.

Privately, Watson’s camp had decided he wouldn’t play. The exact state of his health might forever remain murky, as it depends on who you ask. The Nuggets felt strongly that Watson could’ve suited up by the end of the series but was slow-playing his return to protect his contract value, five league sources told The Denver Post both during the playoffs and afterward.

Another source close to Watson, however, said that he was in no position to return at any point during the series, and that Paul had intervened to tell Watson it would be unsafe to play on a bad hamstring with free agency on the horizon. Injury reports suggesting that he might be available throughout the series, the source contends, were merely an example of gamesmanship by Denver in a tightly contested series against a rival. Watson’s plan was to return during a potential second-round series if Denver had advanced, he said on Porter’s podcast.

“I just knew I hadn’t progressed far enough in my rehab,” he explained. “I knew that this is the most intense level of basketball.”

In either case, the upcoming contract negotiation was very much a consideration, leaving people at every level of the Nuggets organization frustrated with how the situation was handled, sources told The Post. It stood in contrast to other recent examples of Denver’s players attempting to play through injuries in the playoffs: Braun in 2026, Porter in 2025, Gordon in both years. The source close to Watson said that Gordon was among the people advising him to be careful with his return.

“I was getting shot up with all types of stuff in my shoulder joint every game to try to hoop. … I didn’t really feel like we were deep enough as a team for me to sit out,” Porter said last month during his podcast conversation with Watson. “If that happened before I had gotten paid, I don’t think I would’ve put myself in that position.”

“When you’re dealing with those (soft tissue) injuries, you have to be very careful in your return,” Paul, Watson’s agent, said on recently. “Guys want to play. You have to protect them from themselves in that moment because you’re up for a contract.”

Claiming that organizational trust in Watson had taken a hit, the Nuggets drew a line in the sand at the beginning of free agency. They offered a four-year contract with an ascending salary in the range of $18 million per year, with a team option, multiple league sources said. Whatever reservations the team had, it still thought highly enough of Watson to pursue an extension with him — for the right price. But dependability and maturity were concerns on Denver’s end, while any such assertion was viewed by Watson’s side as a sign of disrespect, casting a shadow over the negotiation. The initial offer was turned down immediately. The Nuggets kept it on the table but never returned with a new one.

A sparse trade market

Even independent of injury squabbles, it’s fairly common for teams to hold a hard line in restricted free agency. They’re often comfortable letting these negotiations turn into staring contests, especially when no outside suitors extend an offer sheet (as Oklahoma City did for Denver’s Spencer Jones). But by the time this particular staring contest unfolded, the Nuggets had already gauged the trade market on other potential sacrifices they could’ve made to keep Watson.

Rival teams eyed Denver’s cap sheet and tried to take advantage of it. Hoping the Nuggets were desperate to avoid the second apron, those teams asked Denver to give up draft picks along with Johnson, multiple sources said. It wasn’t necessarily because Johnson’s contract genuinely has negative value. He ranked eighth in the NBA with a 43% 3-point clip last season. It was a matter of leverage and opportunism. The Nuggets rebuffed any such efforts.

They also received at least one legitimately good offer for the 30-year-old wing, according to a league source. They still turned it down, viewing Johnson as an impactful starter. He was Denver’s third-leading scorer in the Minnesota series, averaging 14.2 points on 50% shooting to finish strong after a checkered regular season.

Meanwhile, the Nuggets and Watson were nowhere close to a contract agreement. Watson’s side had asked for north of $25 million annually at the outset, believing him to be worth more than Braun, who was coming off his worst season. Both sides began to explore sign-and-trade options. Denver took calls from the Clippers, Bucks, Hawks and Trail Blazers.

Nothing gained much traction. Sixth Man of the Year runner-up Jaime Jaquez was floated in preliminary talks with Milwaukee, but those conversations were entirely conceptual — the Bucks never made an official sign-and-trade offer, league sources said. Denver would’ve been intrigued by the possibility of adding him if an offer had materialized.

Kris Dunn was another potential player brought up in conversations with the Clippers, but Denver wouldn’t have agreed to a deal involving the 32-year-old guard without also getting draft capital back from Los Angeles, a source said. Pulling that off would’ve been difficult because for the Nuggets, taking back any salary in a sign-and-trade would hard-cap them at the second apron by rule, meaning they would need to send out another player in addition to Watson. Zeke Nnaji’s $7.5 million salary would’ve made the most sense within the CBA framework, but he has been viewed as a negative-value contract around the league for years at this point; asking a team to give up draft picks, an attractive player and to take on Nnaji’s contract was always going to be an obstacle.

The conversations with Los Angeles and Milwaukee were also in awkward positions from the beginning because of league investigations into cap circumvention involving both teams. The uncertainty of their situations made it difficult for talks to advance past the conceptual stage.

If Watson were to be traded, it was becoming increasingly clear that an entirely pick-based return was both the most feasible path forward and the Nuggets’ preferred outcome, rather than a player who would likely slot into the back end of their rotation.

A change of scenery

Then along came the Cavs. They were the last team to get involved, a surprise late entry to the Watson sweepstakes. In the end, they were also the only team to offer Denver an unprotected first-round pick — a coveted asset with high-lottery potential, if Cleveland’s championship window is closed five years from now. No teams had offered an unprotected first-rounder for the older Johnson when he was available earlier in the summer, league sources said.

Watson’s camp grew increasingly frustrated by how Denver was navigating the summer, especially the team’s perspective on his injury. By the time Cleveland made the $88 million offer, the sense was that Watson’s side would’ve been unlikely to agree to that same offer if it had hypothetically come from the Nuggets, sources connected to both sides told The Post. A change of scenery was preferred at that point.

There was also a question of on-court role that Denver would’ve needed to address if it had increased its offer, two league sources said. Was Watson going to be a starter next season, or did the Nuggets still see him as a bench player behind the same five as last year?

He’s expected to start in Cleveland, where small forward was the last hole to plug in a lineup that reached the Eastern Conference Finals this year. It’s an impressive outcome for Watson, landing on another championship contender for a salary twice what he was worth last offseason. There were hard feelings on the way out of Denver — “anybody who knows Peyton Watson knows the last thing I am is a quitter,” he told Porter — but he also left town with a public message sending thanks to his teammates, the Kroenkes and other Nuggets brass.

“As a young player who was a bit naive and hadn’t seen much of the real world, you guys took care of me better than I could have ever imagined,” he said in an Instagram post Aug. 25. “Thanks for that. Playing this game every night on the national stage is difficult on both the body and the mind, but the love from the fans always makes it so worthwhile. I will miss seeing you at Ball Arena.”

The Nuggets walked away feeling elated by the draft pick they wrangled out of a tough situation. They know well what they gave up: youth, depth, two-way athleticism, scoring upside. Watson’s electrifying hops and friendly personality made him a fan favorite, and he may have been just scratching the surface in January. But one month was always a small sample size to bet $88 million on. After feeling out the market, the Nuggets decided they preferred Johnson’s expiring salary, Spencer Jones’ cheaper extension, and an unprotected first-rounder rather than what they would have had to sacrifice for a long-term relationship with Watson.

Signing DeMar DeRozan to a veteran minimum contract also helps alleviate the short-term sting of what’s been lost, at least offensively.

Anything can change in the NBA overnight, but as of now, Johnson is fully part of the team’s plan for the 2026-27 season, sources told The Post.

A final assessment of the trade for Denver can’t be completed until the next move. Until the Cavaliers’ pick has a new home, and another player has a new home in Denver.

The Nuggets are still thin on trade-eligible picks. They have only the one first-rounder. If they’re out of the second apron by next summer, they’ll add another to their stash. The next stage of the Jokic era depends on whether they can maximize their draft capital better than in past years.

While they wait for that next move, Watson will try to prove them wrong for this one.

The Los Angeles Angels, mind you, cost Uncle Stan quite a bit more than three bucks during BP.

It took a few decades, but a man named for two Major League Baseball players is about to join the ranks of MLB ownership. Enos (as in Enos Slaughter) Stanley (as in Stan Musial) Kroenke, according to reports, has reached an agreement to buy the Halos from previous owner Arte Moreno, effective in early 2027.

Assuming the deal goes through, that puts Stan a leg up at the next family BBQ on the baseball front, at least. The Penner Sports Group — which is overseen by Walton-Penner and her husband Greg and, like Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, is part of the Walmart financial empire — has owned the Broncos since August 2022 and purchased a 40% stake in the Rockies this past April. Penner said last month that they had no plans to extend that investment, and that control of the flailing baseball franchise will remain with the club’s majority owners, the Monfort family.

Yeah, that last one didn’t sit well with the baseball sickos on the Grading The Week staff, either. Especially after longtime season-ticket holders we know texted us to grouse about receiving notice from the club of a 14% price hike for next season, all while a potentially nuclear work stoppage looms in early 2027.

The Monforts are the Dodgers of leveraging real estate and selling alcohol. Unfortunately, the Rox also play in the same division as the real Dodgers and are therefore trying to avoid becoming the first MLB club since the Mets in 1965 to string together four straight seasons with 100 or more losses.

Kroenke buys Angels, Rox still stink — D

In a perfect world, KSE would’ve bought the Rockies from the Monforts ages ago. The games would fill up those dry summer months of programming on Altitude TV and spice up the evening hours on Altitude Sports Radio. Nikola Jokic would be rocking the owner’s box at Coors Field, a world-class player at a world-class venue,

While KSE’s stewardship of the Nuggets and Avs has at times been mercurial, it’s also been fairly successful from a standings perspective. And given the concurrent sagas of Peyton Watson, whom the Nuggets just traded to Cleveland rather than extend; and Cale Makar, who just landed the largest contract in NHL history, it’ll be fascinating to see how KSE handles payroll in a non-salary-capped sport. (Well, non-capped for now, boys and girls.)

Uncle Stan had reportedly bid for the Dodgers before, and like 99.99% of big-time North American sports franchise purchases, this one feels more like a land grab on Kroenke’s part than some burning desire to become the next Gene Autry. KSE’s SoFi Stadium, home to the Rams and landlords to the Chargers, is the centerpiece of the Hollywood Park entertainment district in Inglewood, Calif.

Magic Johnson, a minority owner of the Dodgers, welcomed Stan into the MLB ownership club via X.com, then thanked him for letting the NBA icon “rent their beautiful yacht named Aquila for 7 years!”

Those Walmart braggin’ rights are in Stan’s court, given that KSE’s got a tentacle in every major North American sports circuit, with the MLB arm (Angels) joining the NFL (Rams), NBA (Nuggets), NHL (Avalanche), and MLS (Rapids).

And given the global reach of the Arsenal brand, only the oceans cover more of planet Earth than the Kroenkes do at the moment.

On the baseball side, wish Stan luck. The Angels are — were? — one of the few MLB ownership situations that might have a more contentious vibe with its fan base than the Rockies do with Denverites. The Halos are on their sixth manager in eight years. The Angels even had their very own Kris Bryant situation in third baseman Anthony Rendon. The former All-Star landed a seven-year, $246-million contract with the Halos after helping Washington win a World Series in 2019 — then promptly fell apart. The infielder, now 36 years old, has spent this season away from the club, yet hasn’t formally retired.

Rendon’s agent? Scott Boras. Yep — the same guy who represents KB23. Small world, isn’t it? If nothing else, the GTW sickos are looking forward to watching Mike Trout run around in a Jokic jersey or a Nathan MacKinnon sweater soon.

But a recent under-the-radar move brought them one step closer. Denver decided late last week to stretch the guaranteed portion of Jonas Valanciunas’ salary across three seasons, a league source told The Post, confirming a report by Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Valanciunas signed a two-year contract with the Lithuanian team Zalgiris Kaunas after Denver waived him in July, releasing the backup center from the last year of his NBA deal. It left the Nuggets with a $2 million dead cap hit on their 2026-27 payroll — his full salary next season would’ve been $10 million if they had kept him — as Valanciunas was able to return to his home country.

The NBA’s waive-and-stretch provision allows teams to spread a waived player’s remaining salary across multiple seasons, sacrificing future cap space in exchange for immediate relief. In this case, Denver is choosing to incur a dead cap hit of $666,666 for each of the next three years, instead of signing a one-time-only $2 million check.

That means $1.3 million in direct savings against the salary cap. But it also dramatically reduces Denver’s projected luxury tax bill. As a “repeater tax” team, the Nuggets essentially will owe interest on every dollar spent above the luxury tax threshold next season. Stretching Valanciunas whittles about $9 million off their projected tax total.

Still, , the NBA’s most expensive roster remains about $800,000 above the second apron after the Valanciunas move. The Nuggets have until the mid-season trade deadline next February to shed other salary if they want to avoid that threshold, which results in not only an additional tax penalty but also roster-building restrictions. After re-signing Spencer Jones for two years and $12 million this summer, they became the only team in the league with a payroll exceeding the second apron.

By trading Peyton Watson in August and now by lowering the immediate cap hit on Valanciunas, they’ve continued to signal that getting out of second-apron territory is a priority. Currently, their five least expensive cap hits on the active roster all belong to players signed this offseason: DeMar DeRozan, Marvin Bagley III, Tyus Jones, Alpha Diallo and rookie Trevon Brazile.

The next-cheapest players Denver could theoretically trade sometime between now and February are DaRon Holmes II ($3.4 million) and Julian Strawther ($4.8 million). But as of now, any such salary-shedding transaction would require an accompanying move to satisfy NBA roster rules. The Nuggets have 14 out of 15 spots tentatively filled as the calendar flips to September. They cannot carry any fewer than 14 players for more than two consecutive weeks during the season.

Two-way contract maneuvers

Outside of that active 15-man roster, Denver has made a few valuable discoveries using two-way contracts in recent years, from Jones to Collin Gillespie (now in Phoenix).

Every team gets three two-way spots per season. Those spots are filled by players who can be assigned back and forth between the NBA and G League; their salaries don’t count against the cap, but they can play regular-season NBA minutes as if they’re part of the active roster.

The Nuggets acquired Julian Reese’s two-way contract from Washington in the Watson sign-and-trade, but they waived him last Friday, according to the NBA’s transaction log. They proceeded to sign recent draft pick Bryce Hopkins to a two-way deal instead, leaving them with two spots filled and one vacant. Hopkins was taken with the 49th overall pick in June. Former CU guard KJ Simpson currently occupies the other spot.

Veteran guard Lonnie Walker IV, who will try to make the team on a training camp invite, is no longer eligible to sign a two-way contract due to his NBA service time. If Denver keeps him around, it will have to be via a standard contract.

Team Grading The Week raised eyebrows and perked up ears a few days back when former Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. lamented the break-up/transition/evolution of Denver’s roster over the last five off-seasons. After the ’23 playoffs, and an NBA title, they lost Bruce Brown, a massive contributor off the bench, to free agency. After ’24, they lost wing guard/defensive specialist Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to another free-agent contract. After ’25, they traded away MPJ to the Nets. After ’26, they traded Peyton Watson to the Cavs.

“I don’t know why they let Pope (go),” “That was the beginning of our downfall.”

Downfall? Strong, but can’t disagree, either.

Were the Nuggets’ postseason fades in ’25 and ’26 due entirely to the loss of KCP?

As usual, MPJ was half right.

As Porter himself pointed out, the Nuggets without KCP pushed the eventual NBA champs, the Oklahoma City Thunder, to seven games in the second round of the ’25 postseason — and that was with MPJ able to use only one working shoulder.

Now, in MPJ’s defense, there’s the defense. In the two seasons since Caldwell-Pope’s been gone, the Nuggets’ numbers on the defensive end of the floor have started to crater. Denver ranked 15th in defensive rating during the ’22-23 regular season and No. 8 in ’23-24. With KCP MIA? No. 21 in ’24-25,

As for perimeter defense, per NBA.com, the Nuggets ranked third in fewest opponent 3-point makes allowed in ’22-23 and finished second in fewest allowed in ’23-24 with KCP leading the charge along the perimeter.

The Nuggets two years ago slid to 20th in opponent 3-pointers made in ’24-25 — and ranked 18th in 3-point makes allowed in ’25-26. Save us, Dave Joerger!

MPJ on Nuggets’ “downfall”  — C

Caldwell-Pope was the perfect, spot-up, fourth or fifth option for the Nuggets of ’22-24. On the other hand, that line of KCP thinking brings us back to some of the same revisionist-history stuff that peppers online conversations about Christian Braun.

GTW’s hoops wonks tend to pinpoint the Nuggets’ “downfall” to Game 7 of that fateful, second-round Timberwolves series in the spring of 2024. Which means KCP was still here for the beginning of any “fade,” to be fair.

Again, per NBA tracking data, the veteran stopper was considered to have been “guarding” Minnesota star Anthony Edwards for 39:29 minutes over that crucial seven-game, second-round series two years ago. If you read those 39-and-a-half minutes as the stat line for a single game,

Now, Edwards was unguardable for most of that series, to be fair. But given an assignment that falls under the definition of “You had ONE job,” KCP didn’t really do it, did he?

“We still went Game 7 with Minnesota after (former Nuggets VP) Tim Connolly kind of built Minnesota to try and beat us with the two bigs. Because then you can put KAT (Karl-Anthony Towns) on Joker and you get Rudy Gobert kind of roam.

“So they kind of built that team to try to beat us, and they got us in Game 7.”

Sure did.

The Nuggets overpaid for MPJ, just as they did for Zeke Nnaji. Braun is a wait-and-see who’s left much of Nuggets Nation with a bitter taste in its mouth. The better front offices managed to get value from contracts for future performance, not just to reward past numbers.

According to Basketball-Reference.com, Caldwell-Pope put up a 112 Defensive Rating per 100 opponent possessions two seasons ago, but that went up to 121 per 100 with Memphis in ’25-26. Braun recorded a 118 Defensive Rating (DR) in ’24-25 and a 120 DR per 100 last year. Not KCP good, but catching up.

Porter at least threw a little compliment to the ’26-27 Nuggets while waxing nostalgic.

“It’s like slowly (breaking it up) … but they still can be called (a contender), as long as you got Joker, Jamal, AG (Aaron Gordon),” the former Nugget reflected. “Deebo’s (DeMar DeRozan)’s over there, Cam (Johnson)’s obviously a good player, CB (Christian Braun) … I mean, they’re still good. But we had some camaraderie (among that championship core).”

Most of Oct. 5, 2025 has evaporated from our minds. But the lingering memories in Philadelphia always capture a critical scene. On the final drive, as the Broncos marched for a field goal to seal an improbable victory, they were hanging on as Powers’ arm hung motionless from his body.

He tore his left biceps. It was actually more gross.

“Well, it popped off the forearm and rolled up on me,” Powers said Wednesday.

They said Powers was a brute when he signed four years ago. And he is, standing 6-foot-4 and weighing 310 pounds. They said Powers was willing to drop the gloves. He provided a reminder at training camp this summer, on occasion taking a swing at defenders after a miscarriage of justice.

They said he would protect the quarterback like his ATM PIN, and he allowed zero sacks across 465 snaps last season.

What they didn’t know — and neither did we — was his staggering pain tolerance. It is a defining characteristic.

When his limb became useless against the Eagles, he refused to exit, blocking with his right shoulder.

“Given the chemistry we have developed, I think it is pretty selfish to just kind of bow out because something is bothering you,” Powers explained. “It was the drive that won the game. I think we can all fairly say, looking back, that it was the turning point of our season. Beating the reigning Super Bowl champs in Philadelphia, down 15, that is where our team grew closer and gained a bunch of confidence.”

Powers is the thunderstorm that you hope doesn’t arrive at your doorstep. And if you think this was a one-off, you don’t know Ben.

After what is believed to be the fastest return on record from a torn biceps, Powers suffered a Lisfranc injury on the last snap of his first game back on Dec. 21 against Jacksonville. He thought he sprained his foot. As the trainer removed the ankle tape, Powers winced.

Getting an MRI was floated. Powers dunked the suggestion.

“I said, ‘I can’t do it.’ I had just missed all those games, and that exam could be a death sentence. It bothered me during the week,” Powers said. “Normally, it swells up like a football. My foot was an anomaly. The doctors could not give me a good answer why. So I was able to get through it with the adrenaline of the games.”

Powers played well over the remainder of the season. He sacrificed his health and assumed the risk for the greater good.

Why not consider his contract status? Or how putting out poor tape could affect his future with the team?

“Simple,” Powers said, “because we are in this together.”

This answer rattled in my ears as we stood inside the Pat Bowlen Fieldhouse. It made me think of the Denver Nuggets. Peyton Watson, suspicions confirmed by his representatives, staged Operation Shutdown last April, declining to attempt to play in the postseason because of a hamstring injury.

Truth is, some players are agents for change. And some players are pawns for their agents.

Powers could not stomach the idea of missing a snap. That is how he thinks. He is not worried about the next game or the next drive, but the next play.

This type of mentality is threaded throughout the Broncos roster — and why they can win a Super Bowl. Longtime team employees talk about the character of this team like coaches did during the back-to-back Super Bowl titles in 1997 and 1998.

Coach Sean Payton and general manager George Paton have been intentional in how they built this locker room. Of course, a baseline of talent is required. But Payton demands players who are smart, love the game and demonstrate “we-over-me” toughness.

Dudes like Powers.

“There’s a unique part to the offense and defensive lines where they play for each other. It����ap those traits that are hard to measure when you’re doing the college evaluation,” Payton said. “And then when you kind of hit on those type, they’re special and Ben would definitely fall into that category.”

What makes Powers different is that he doesn’t consider himself unique.

Not in the Broncos locker room. Linebacker Alex Singleton missed 23 days and one game after undergoing surgery for testicular cancer. Safety JL Skinner played last season with a torn labrum. Brandon Jones planned to play in the Super Bowl — “thug it out,” as he put it — with a still-mending pectoral muscle if the Broncos had advanced. Same goes for running back J.K. Dobbins with his aching foot.

“It is not just me,” Powers pointed out multiple times, “it is 100 percent a culture of instilled physical and mental toughness.”

In a time where athletes obsess over their personal brand, social media followers and getting paid, the Broncos take us on a quantum leap back in time.

When the team mattered more than a witty tweet. This is why they can win a title.

Don’t confuse this as advocating playing with a concussion, as a new CTE study raises concerns about long-term risks for NFL players.

But in a sport that must continue to do more to protect brains, brawn still matters.

Powers, whose bicep is healed and foot strong after screws were removed a few months ago, is admittedly “old-school” in his approach and mindset. He punches his time card. Tapes every inch of his arms and hands. And goes to work.

Ask those who know him, and stories of grit began following him in college. Remember the Baker Mayfield flag plant game at Ohio State? Oklahoma’s team doctor ruled Powers out with a high ankle sprain. His replacement suffered a head injury in the first half.

At halftime, Powers said he could go. He helped lead the Sooners to a victory.

Moments like this create a sense of pride for Powers.

As he enters his eighth NFL season, there is one goal left for him to accomplish in Denver, something he refuses to let pain prevent.

“There is a standard that this regime has built over the past four years that you can’t let your brother down next to you,” Powers said. “The closer you get to that goal of a Super Bowl, you understand the significance of winning it all. You look back at the AFC Championship Game, and we were one drive away from playing in the Super Bowl. And that sucks. It sucks to think that, and now we have to look in the mirror and see how we can get over the hump. But we are in this together. At the end of the day, all that matters is the team and getting the win.”

“It’s honestly good for you, every once in a while, to get punched in the mouth,” the Nuggets guard told me over the weekend at the , home to his summer 2026 youth camp with Flexwork.

“I’ve said it a couple of times. So it’s good for me to personally get written off. It’s probably good for the team to get written off.

“But like I said, I wouldn’t write a (Nuggets) team off that won that many games and has been there, has won a championship, has done all those things. So we’re excited. And obviously, we don’t really care what other people have to say.”

Good thing. The Nuggets have been taking it in the shorts from pundits far and wide ever since they went over the NBA salary cap’s second apron in order to keep Spencer Jones out of the Thunder’s clutches. Tim Hardaway Jr., Jonas Valanciunas, Jalen Pickett and now Peyton Watson are officially out; Marvin Bagley III, Lonnie Walker IV and now DeMar DeRozan are officially in.

“Really excited to play with another All-Star and learn from him,” Braun said of DeRozan.

“I’m always very confident in what our front office does and the team they’ll put together every single year.”

On paper, the Nuggets will go into preseason camp older than a year ago at this time. Maybe wiser. But maybe not, well, better. And in a Western Conference where Oklahoma City’s roster is still loaded and San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama is only 22 and just getting started, the smart money says the Mile High title window’s about to snap shut on Nikola Jokic’s Hall-of-Fame fingers. That Denver’s become Milwaukee West. No wonder CB can get a little cheesed off when you bring it up.

“I mean, we’re going to add enough pieces, obviously. As long as we have Jok (Jokic), as long as we have Mal (Jamal Murray) and AG (Aaron Gordon) and that staff, we’re always in a really good spot,” Braun countered.

“I’m very confident in us every single year, no matter who we put on the court.  With those guys, we’ve got a chance to win a championship, and that’s what we’re here for — to win championships. So we’re excited. We’ve got everything we need, as long as we have those guys.”

The Core Four is the Core Three now, mind you, and Father Time isn’t doing Nuggets Nation any favors. Gordon turns 31 in September. He played in only 36 games a season ago, as one of the bounciest players in the NBA battled calf and hamstring issues. Murray had a career year (25.4 points per game) and landed a deserved All-Star berth, but shot 35.7% from the floor during that ill-fated first-round playoff loss to Minnesota. Jokic became just the second player in NBA history to average a triple-double over back-to-back campaigns, but shot 44.6% during the postseason. He’s turning 32 in February.

The Nuggets need to get younger, longer and meaner around that veteran trio, and ASAP. All of which puts a little more hot sauce on Braun, a two-way threat who’s 25, rehabbing an injured ankle, and entering the first season of a five-year, $125-million extension. Especially with Watson, CB’s pal, getting traded to the Cavs as part of a five-team swap that landed the Nuggets draft picks in ’31 and ’32. P-Swat (pick 30) and Braun (pick 21) were both Hoovered up in the ’22 draft, and eventually contributed to the franchise’s first NBA title the following spring.

“Very excited for Peyton and everything he accomplished,” Braun said of his former running mate, who landed a four-year, $88-million deal from Cleveland as part of a sign-and-trade.

“I mean, every single day that I’ve been in the NBA, I’ve been with Peyton. Every single day we’ve competed, we’ve competed together. We’ve done everything together. We’ve practiced every day together. We’ve done all the rookie stuff together. So Peyton’s my guy. Me and his guys, his family, his friends have gotten close (with me) over the last four years, obviously. And he’s a guy that obviously supported me at every step. So I’ll do the same for him, always.”

Yet as the Nuggets chose to pay CB and not P-Swat at the end of their respective rookie deals, the former has become  for Nuggets faithful lately; You sort of see what you want to see inside that inkblot. The hot take is that the former Kansas star cashed in — Braun’s got a $21.55 million cap number for ’26-27 — only to promptly fall off his ’24-25 clip in scoring (12.0 points per game last season, down from 15.4 the year before), shooting (30.1% on treys, down from 39.7% the year prior) and defense (120 points allowed per 100 opponent possessions, up from 118 in ’24-25).

But there were caveats, too. For one, CB played hurt last season, and everybody knew it. One of Braun’s strengths is an almost sneaky explosiveness combined with reckless abandon — whether sprinting on run-outs, squirting free on back-door cuts, throwing his body into the paint, or rising high to finish open looks from beyond the arc. Braun tore ligaments in his left ankle last November and wasn’t quite the same after that. He missed 38 games. He spent three weeks wearing a boot. Then he dinged his calf in Game 1 of the Minnesota series. He managed three points in Game 6, as one of the most anticipated seasons in recent Nuggets memory ended with a stunning thud in Minneapolis.

From a 2026 lens, extending Braun while kicking Watson’s can down the road looks like an epic blunder that could cost the Nuggets another title in the Joker’s prime.

But hindsight makes Jerry Wests of us all. If someone told you a year ago that you’d only be able to pay either Watson or Braun the $20-ish million it would take to keep them, eight out of 10 Nuggets fans — probably more — would’ve given the money to the latter. Without hesitation.

Basketball-Reference.com tracks a stat called “Box score Plus/Minus,” or BPM — which, in simplest terms, measures points per 100 possessions a player accounts for in a game above that of an average player. Braun put up a +0.1 BPM score or better in 41 of 78 appearances (53%) during the ’24-25 season, and posted a BPM net-positive score in 19 of 51 (37%) career postseason appearances. Watson, by contrast, registered an +0.1 BPM in 23 of 68 appearances (33.8%) in ’24-25 and posted nine net-positive BPM games out of 29 playoff tilts (31%).

It’s fine to fault the Nuggets front office for not seeing 2026 Watson coming. But while it’s OK to talk about ancient history, it’s a weak look to keep revising that history to fit the narratives of the present.

Your buddy with the season tickets might not have given Braun $20 million a year ago, but he would’ve laughed you out of the bar if you’d suggested doing the same for P-Swat last August. And if he says otherwise, he’s lying.

That said, it also behooves Braun to get back on track, fair or not. If Watson becomes an All-Star in the East, Nuggets Nation won’t let No. 0 in blue hear the end of it.

And they need him. Now more than ever. Since the spring of ’24, the Nuggets are 10-4 in the postseason when Braun scores in double digits and 6-12 when he doesn’t. That’s an awful lot of pressure on one left ankle.

“Yeah, I think we’re going to put it in the past, and it’s not something I want to talk about anymore,” Braun said of last year’s injuries. “I’ve worked extremely hard to get past it and will continue to work on it, and (it’s) something that will continue to develop, continue to get better. So I’m not too worried about what other people have to say about it.

“I know who I am and the player I am. I know I’ll bounce back and be right where I need to be next year.”

We kid, of course, but goodness gracias — this CU football season, which is slated to open on Sept. 3 in Atlanta against Georgia Tech, can’t get here quick enough for Buffs fans. Just so they’ll have something to talk about other than the latest round of reported subpoenas.

The college football wonks on the Grading The Week crew were already raising eyebrows with the news that the lawyer for an ex-security guard at Sanders’ private school, John Darjean, had attempted to serve papers to the Buffs football coach on campus in order to get him to testify in the bankruptcy trial of Sanders’ son, former CU safety Shilo Sanders.

The trial is slated to begin on Aug. 31, just four days before the Buffs’ opener against the Yellow Jackets, and concerns Darjean’s efforts to enforce a $11.89-million default judgment for damages arising from an altercation that occurred when Shilo Sanders was 15. Darjean alleges he suffered permanent injuries while trying to obtain the younger Sanders’ phone.

While it remains to be seen whether Deion Sanders will testify during the week of the Buffs’ first game, is also seeking damages in court from the elder Sanders over Coach Prime’s trademarks.

Actually, it’s the “trademark” part that has Alan Tipp, a graphic designer from Omaha, crying foul over the Buffs’ football coach.

According to documents filed in U.S. District Court, Tipp designed the now-famous “PRIME21” logo in 2011, which became synonymous with Sanders and CU football.

Tipp alleges in said documents that Sanders and his management team, SMAC Entertainment,

Shade thrown over Deion’s shades — D

In the filing, Tipp alleges that he signed a conditional agreement to forgo rights to the logo after a representative from SMAC Entertainment, Sam Morini, made promises that the designer would be “an integral part of the Sanders’ (sic) marketing and branding team”; that Tipp would serve as advisor for CU student-athletes and their marketing efforts; that he would collaborate with Nike on Sanders branded apparel and footwear; and would be “retained to design, brand and develop a marketing plan” for a line of Sanders-themed sunglasses using the “PRIME21” logo.

Tipp alleges that none of the above happened. He also contends in the documents that “Sanders and his representatives began evading Tipp” after the agreement was executed, and that in April 2023, SMAC told the designer that his “services were no longer needed” for the planned sunglasses launch.

In September 2023, Sanders partnered with Blenders Eyewear to produce signature sunglasses. The partnership garnered $1.2 million in pre-orders and reportedly generated nearly $5 million in sales within the first few days of release.

Tipp wants the court to render his agreement with Sanders to be nullified; for all Sanders’ and SMAC’s trademarks to be canceled; and seeks injunctive relief, as well as compensation of at least $75,000 plus legal costs. It’s probably not the best sign for a pivotal Year 4 of The Sanders Era when folks are throwing that kind of shade at Coach Prime before a ball’s even been snapped.

Peyton Watson trade — D-minus

The Nuggets still have a month or so to salvage what’s been a depressing offseason to date — and an almost 180-degree flip of the enthusiasm and good vibes that stemmed from the summer of 2025.

“I’m happy for Peyton. He deserved it,” Nuggets icon Nikola Jokic told Miroslav Cuk in Serbian on Thursday when asked about Denver’s trade of Peyton Watson to Cleveland for draft picks

“We will miss (Watson’s) energy and skill. I don’t think about (the) season yet … we have to play this (summer), but it’s going to be OK.”

Is it, though? Unless trading away a promising wing who had all the things this roster needed — good defender, athletic, potential 3-and-D threat with upside — wasn’t the first chess move that sets up another roster addition before preseason camp, Heaven help Nuggets faithful. Heaven help the Joker, too. Because ownership clearly won’t.

He is the most talented player I have ever covered. He threw with the velocity and accuracy of a pitcher from right field. He motored around the bases like a sports car, knowing exactly what gear to shift into two steps out of the batter’s box.

And man could he hit.

A statue honoring his greatness will be unveiled Sunday morning in front of Coors Field. Appropriately, it features him finishing his swing.

It was, and now will forever be,  a work of art. In this case, 21 feet from the base to the end of his bat.

“That’s kinda large,” quipped Walker on Friday.

About that bat.

It produced my favorite Walker memory.

Years ago, the Rockies were playing the New York Mets at Shea Stadium. For Colorado, East Coast road trips were measured by stats, not wins. Too often, Walker and Todd Helton were thin purple pinstripes standing between the Rockies and suffering the indignity of a no-hitter.

It was against this backdrop that Walker stepped to the plate. He recognized a fastball and uncoiled, producing the kind of loud contact that separates Hall of Famers from big leaguers.

It dropped jaws. Well, not all of them. The PA announcer forgot to turn off his mic.

“Holy (bleep)!” he screeched as the ball raced through the sky and shattered a light on the scoreboard.

Walker became Roy Hobbs. With his 34.5-inch, 32.5-ounce bat, he brought fiction to life, making everything seem possible.

Several years later, Walker found himself working out with Ryan Spilborghs in the 2003 offseason at Coors Field. Spilly was a Class-A outfielder finishing up his college degree at CU Boulder while working double shifts at the Village Tavern at The Flatirons Mall.

He was a terrible waiter. But a hard worker. After enduring constant ribbing for three months at the gym, Spilborghs was rewarded. Walker gifted him two bats, jewels of maple.

Spilborghs gained enough strength to consider using the bat in 2005. At the urging of teammate Sean Barker, he broke it out in a game. Using the LW33, Spilborghs went on a tear, batting .340 over stops in Double-A and Triple-A with “more than 100 hits from that bat.”

He made his big league debut in July, breaking the lumber against Reds left-hander Eric Milton.

“It is a family heirloom now in our house. The color is gone, but it makes it look like an antique,” Spilborghs said. “The time I spent working out with Larry was one of the highlights of my life. And every time I see him, I let him know I owe him a debt of gratitude because it was his bat that got me to the big leagues.”

No Joke: The worst part of the Nuggets trading Peyton Watson is that it sends the message that they are taking Nikola Jokic for granted. He remains in his championship window, and the Nuggets are no longer a title contender. If Jokic finishes with one ring, he will not rank among the top 10 players of all time.

NFL Europe: The NFL’s popularity remains immune to COVID, concussions, and controversies. But the greed reached a bridge too far when commissioner Roger Goodell said there is “no doubt” that the NFL will base teams in Europe. Are they going to add expansion teams and have a European division? Otherwise, the competitive disadvantage would be striking. And good luck getting free agents to play overseas so their income gets taxed twice.

College buzzkill: The opening of the college football season brings joy and unbridled optimism. Except along the Front Range. Where have you gone Bill McCartney and Sonny Lubick? Let’s be honest. If given $100 would you bet that CU, CSU or Air Force will deliver a winning record? I would not.

From a financial standpoint, it made sense to let Peyton Watson move on, convinced he is not worth the four-year, $88-million contract Cleveland gave him. The Nuggets remain the only team in the second apron. So they were not going to pay Watson.

The problem is that the entire offseason has been lost in translation. The Nuggets appear detached from reality, lacking a clear direction.

One day, they are going for it, matching Oklahoma City’s $11.75 million offer sheet for Spencer Jones, a move that spiked their luxury tax bill by $32 million. The next, they are driving Watson to the airport in exchange for Julian Reese, who will be waived, and a 2031 first-round draft pick and a second-rounder in 2032. 

The first person who can articulate the Nuggets’ plan this summer gets free tickets to Elitch’s and a game-used ice pack and Ace bandage signed by Aaron Gordon.

Unless the Nuggets believed Watson quit in the playoffs — he was officially out with a hamstring injury — then they should have kept him. A disgruntled Watson playing on the qualifying offer is better than what this multi-team, money-laundering deal delivered.

The Nuggets needed Watson’s athleticism, his two-way skillset, his ability to create off the dribble. They provided runway to prove himself when Jokic missed 16 games, and their reward is a cheesy Hotels.com commercial and the bile taste in their mouth every time they realize Zeke Nnaji remains on the roster. 

I would have loved to see Nikola Jokic’s reaction to this move. “So let me get this straight. We got no players. And the draft picks are available when I am 36 and 37 years old?” 

It is a failure.

There is no argument to construct otherwise, save for intel that Watson, 23, could have played in the postseason and staged Operation Shutdown. Eyebrows were raised in April when Gordon was dragging himself up and down the court on one leg, and Watson was watching from the bench.

He played on April 1. And that was it. There was talk that he was working his way back. That he was practicing. Then he wasn’t.

I don’t know what happened. I know the Nuggets’ chances of beating the Timberwolves nose-dived without him.

So after a game of chicken, of the market not responding to Watson, the Nuggets chose the easy way out. Fine. Then, why not demand that Cleveland include Jaylon Tyson in the deal?

For those saying the Nuggets had no other choice because the luxury tax bill would have exceeded $200 million. That is not the case. They could have shipped out Cam Johnson early in the offseason, leaving room to absorb Watson’s new contract.

As depressing as it sounds, it would have been easier to stomach a bad deal for Johnson than Watson. Watson was their guy. They drafted him. They developed him. They deserved to benefit from a few prime years.

Instead, they get to flash fake smiles that they love Christian Braun — hopefully he bounces back from his ankle injury — Julian Strawther and DaRon Holmes II.

Is it possible for the Nuggets to rehire Calvin Booth so they can fire him again?

In an offseason that demanded improvement given the upper crust in the Western Conference — San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Minnesota — the Nuggets lacked creativity and imagination.

They brought the band back. This was admirable a year ago. Not this summer.

Jamal Murray, Jokic, Gordon and Johnson are terrific — when healthy.  Murray, Jokic, Gordon and Johnson are dynamic — when available.

Sequels rarely live up to expectations. And as Hollywood themes go, the Nuggets are giving off tiki idol Brady Bunch vibes. 

Sure, they could use the first-rounder to acquire a better player than Watson. But the way this offseason has transpired, it is more likely they attach the pick to move Nnaji.

According to reports, the Nuggets have turned their attention to signing free agent DeMar DeRozan. He is 37.

When Josh Kroenke said everything was on the table at the end of the season presser, did he mean Bengay, heating pads, insoles and arch supports?

DeRozan can still score. But not sure if you are aware, putting the ball in the basket is not the Nuggets’ problem. Preventing it from going in is the issue.

I am not going to bore you with the apron problems the Nuggets are facing. The NBA demands that fans be CPAs to understand the salary cap.

However, one thing is easy to see. By not going for it — and keeping Spencer Jones and signing DeRozan does not qualify — they are wasting another year of Jokic’s prime.

What makes this different is that he could leave this time.

When Jokic did not agree to a contract extension, kicking the can down the road again, it means he can sign a $359.5 million contract extension next summer. That would be the largest in league history and bring his career earnings within squinting distance of one billion.

Jokic clearly likes money. Not as much as horses. But his affection for the dollar is real. Good for him. And no one can pay him more than Denver.

But his future is now a story as the Nuggets more closely resemble the unraveling of the Bucks in the last years of Giannis Antetokounmpo than the championship team of 2023.

In some ways, the bloated contracts made this a likely conclusion.

But barring Watson bailing on his teammates, the Nuggets are not better without him.

The Nuggets’ very newsy Wednesday began with news from the broadcast booth. The franchise announced its new team for Altitude Sports broadcasts, with Noah Reed joining the lineup as the play-by-play announcer and NBA veteran Jason Richardson joining the studio team to provide analysis.

Reed, a native of Indiana, had spent the previous five seasons calling football and college basketball for ESPN, FOX Sports and NBC/Peacock. He’ll be joined by Katy Winge, a longtime Kroenke Sports & Entertainment fixture who will take the role of lead analyst, becoming just the third full-time female analyst on an NBA regional network.

“This is a dream come true for me and something I’ve spent so much time and effort striving toward,” Reed said via a Nuggets news release. “I am thrilled to make Denver home and begin connecting and interacting with Nuggets fans everywhere.”

The duo of Reed and Winge replaces Chris Marlowe (play-by-play) and Scott Hastings (analyst), who were let go earlier this summer, along with reporter and studio analyst Chris Dempsey, a former sports reporter for The Denver Post.

Gardner, a Front Range favorite, is returning to Altitude, the company announced. The Denver native and CU/Northglenn alum will serve as a host/reporter on Nuggets broadcasts, as well as fulfill “other roles for the network,” per the KSE release. Gardner spent the last seven years based in New York City as a host with the MLB Network, NHL Network and DAZN, following roughly three years with Altitude prior to that.

Richardson, 45, will serve as studio analyst and as a second game analyst for “select” home games, per KSE. He played 14 seasons in the NBA (2001-15), primarily with Golden State, with whom he won NBA Slam Dunk Contest titles in 2002 and 2003. Richardson will be joined in the studio by another KSE fixture, Vic Lombardi. Altitude veteran and former Nuggets coach Bill Hanzlik will also serve as a studio analyst for “select” games, per KSE.

The new team’s regular-season debut will be the Nuggets’ home opener on Oct. 24 vs. the New Orleans Pelicans. Altitude will carry 67 Nuggets regular-season basketball games this season on both Altitude TV and Altitude+.