$500 million in one year! Goodbye, Nuggets! Trade him away as fast as possible.

A deadlock, a complete deadlock.

The Nuggets offered their restricted free agent Watson a four-year, $80 million contract, but he was dissatisfied, demanding an annual salary of over $25 million.

If the Nuggets pay Watson $23 million annually, the team's luxury tax bill would be $231 million, player salaries would exceed $240 million, and total spending would approach $500 million.

Rumors suggest that if Watson doesn't get the contract he wants this summer, he might sign a one-year, $6.53 million qualifying offer, thus becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Even if Watson only earns about $6.5 million annually, the Nuggets' luxury tax would skyrocket by $43.4 million, reaching $112 million.

Therefore, the best solution for the Nuggets currently is to trade Watson away, and they have been planning to do so.It is reported that the asking price has dropped to one high-level starting player plus one first-round pick, whereas previously they insisted on at least two first-round picks in return., with interested suitors including the Hawks, Bucks, and Clippers, among others.

Watson was born on September 11, 2002. He is a 2.03m tall swingman with a 2.14m wingspan, selected as the 30th pick in the first round of the 2022 draft. He showed significant improvement last season, averaging 29.6 minutes per game in the regular season, contributing 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.1 blocks, with shooting percentages of 49.1%, 41.1%, and 73%.

In fact, the Nuggets also wanted to give Watson a nine-figure contract, but as mentioned, their finances simply can't handle it. Otherwise, he should be more expensive than Braun, who signed a five-year, $125 million contract last summer. Braun averaged 12 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in the regular season last season, with shooting percentages of 51.9% and 30.1%; in this year's playoffs, he averaged 8.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists, with shooting percentages of 41.7% and 42.9%.

In summary, considering all circumstances, the Nuggets, who were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs this year, not only failed to effectively strengthen their roster this offseason but may also lose a key player, leading to a further decline in competitiveness and making it unlikely for them to contend for the championship.

They won the championship just three years ago, but the next one might be a long way off...