The Denver Nuggets hosted their media day on Thursday and began their training camp on Friday. The team will travel to Abu Dhabi for two preseason games against the Boston Celtics, but they will likely be without one key rotation player.
Speaking with reporters on Friday, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone revealed that 22-year-old forward Peyton Watson is dealing with a hamstring injury that will likely sideline him for the NBA preseason.
Via Bennett Durando of the Denver Post: “Peyton Watson is out with a soft tissue hamstring injury. Michael Malone said Watson rehabbing and being prepared for the regular-season opener is more important than getting him in preseason games.”
Peyton Watson is out with a soft tissue hamstring injury. Michael Malone said Watson rehabbing and being prepared for the regular-season opener is more important than getting him in preseason games.
— Bennett Durando (@BennettDurando) September 27, 2024
Watson is entering his third NBA season and projects to see a career-high in playing time. While he appeared in 80 games last season, Watson averaged just 18.6 minutes per game. This should go up after the departure of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in free agency.
While Watson is far from the shooting threat Caldwell-Pope was, his defensive upside is something Denver is high on. In 103 career NBA games, Watson has averaged 5.9 points in 16.3 minutes per game.
Watson was on the 2023 Nuggets championship team, appearing in 23 regular season games and five postseason games that year. The 30th overall pick out of UCLA in 2022, Watson is an athletic player who can impact the game in a lot of ways.
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