Jon Horst and company have had their eyes on Peyton Watson for what feels like forever. Considering the latter's age and potential development, they're right to. But Denver's asking price of two first-round draft picks is steep, and the Bucks haven't found a way to muster enough value for Denver. That is, until now: according to NBA insider Michael Scotto, the Bucks are willing to take on Zeke Nnaji's contract.
"While the Bucks haven’t offered a first-round pick yet, they’d consider absorbing Nuggets forward Zeke Nnaji as part of a Watson sign-and-trade, HoopsHype has learned," Scotto wrote in a recent article.
Bucks are willing to absorb Zeke Nnaji's contract if it lands them Peyton Watson
Anyone paying attention knows that Watson is worth a long, protracted pursuit. He had a breakout year with the Nuggets, posting career-highs across the board while Nikola Jokic was injured. He finished the season with averages of 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.1 assists while shooting 41.1 percent from distance on top of his near-elite defense.
And so it only makes sense that Denver won't give up easily. According to ESPN's Shams Charania, Denver initially demanded a steep asking price of two firsts and two pick swaps in any trade involving the young forward. And they've already offered Watson a five-year, $70 million deal, as reported by Tony Jones of The Athletic.
If they do take on Nnaji, it helps them too. Absorbing him means adding yet another body to a frontcourt rotation that already has its fair share of sorting out to do. But unlike some of the head-scratching, guard-heavy logjams Horst has flirted with this summer, taking a flyer on a young forward like Nnaji while netting a high-upside wing like Watson is a gamble worth taking every single time.
Watson gives Taylor Jenkins the exact kind of long-limbed, defensive-minded chess piece he loves to deploy on the perimeter. Nnaji, at the very least, can space the floor while defending the rim even if his basketball IQ and motor have been suspect at times throughout his career.
The Bucks are making the most of their newfound cap flexibility
On a broader strategy level, if Scotto's report is true, then the Bucks are finally doing what cap-strapped rebuilding teams are supposed to do: weaponizing their flexibility to take on unwanted salary. That is how you play hardball while keeping your picks. Instead of meeting Denver’s exorbitant demand, Milwaukee can use its financial relief to offset the draft capital that they obviously don't want to part ways with in the middle of a rebuild.
The asking price for a blue-chip young wing was always going to hurt. But by dangling financial relief to bridge the gap, the Bucks may have just found the asset they've needed. If Horst can pull this off without bleeding out their future draft picks, it'll be nothing short of a masterclass in front-office gymnastics. And if the acquisition works out in the long term, it'll give Milwaukee what it's always needed throughout this post-Giannis recovery period: a forward who's good enough to take the franchise forward.
Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis.
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