Buzz continues to intensify linking the Los Angeles Lakers to Denver Nuggets wing Peyton Watson.
On Tuesday, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin revealed that the Lakers have "privately discussed" potentially acquiring Watson in restricted free agency this coming summer.
Lakers have privately discussed signing Peyton Watson
McMenamin noted that the Nuggets already have a substantial amount of salary committed for 2026 — $215 million, to be exact. This might prevent Denver from matching an offer sheet for Watson, although there's also the possibility that the Nuggets could trade Christian Braun (or others) to make fiscal room for Watson.
Might the Lakers be willing to pivot from Watson, their clear target, and acquire Braun instead? That remains to be seen, but McMenamin also mentioned five other players the Lakers could be in on.
McMenamin reported that the Lakers have internally discussed unrestricted free-agents-to-be Andrew Wiggins and Tari Eason. McMenamin also mentioned Tobias Harris, Quentin Grimes, and Dean Wade as players who "fit that profile.
Watson represents the cream of the crop, based on his age (he'll be 24 entering the 2026-27 season), athleticism, defensive versatility, and greatly improved 3-point shot. Watson is averaging 14.9 points per game for Denver this season on 41.7 percent from downtown.
At 6-foot-8, Watson represents a potential upgrade to Rui Hachimura as a big wing who can defend four positions. Watson is bouncier than Hachimura and has more offensive upside.
It's no secret that Los Angeles needs big, athletic wings who can defend. Luka Doncic was surrounded by these types of players in Dallas when he reached the NBA Finals in 2024.
The non-Watson targets for the Lakers this summer each have a characteristic that prevents them from checking all the boxes.
Norman Powell? Not quite tall enough to guard bigs. The same can be said for Anfernee Simons, Kevin Huerter, Bennedict Mathurin, and Grimes.
Wiggins is intriguing, but he's already reached his ceiling as a player, whereas Luka might be able to unlock a new level that we haven't seen from Watson, thereby increasing the Lakers' return on investment.
Eason would really help defensively, and he's young, but he's limited offensively. And Tobias Harris would be decent, but he's near the end of his career and wouldn't necessarily be an upgrade over Hachimura.
There aren't any wing targets that can compete with Watson, beyond a potential Lakers trade for Lu Dort. It'll be interesting to see if Denver makes a surprising trade or two to allow for the re-signing of Watson, thereby dashing the Lakers' plans.