The Denver Nuggets want to sign DeMar DeRozan after trading Peyton Watson to the Cleveland Cavaliers, according to Chris Haynes.
DeRozan is an unrestricted free agent. He spent the past two seasons with the Sacramento Kings. The veteran averaged 22.2 points per game during the 2024-25 season and put up 18.4 points per game last season.
The Denver Nuggets are pivoting and have their eyes directed on six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan who remains a free agent in demand for contenders, league sources tell me.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) August 20, 2026
A USC product, DeRozan has career averages of 21.1 points per game with the Toronto Raptors, San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls and Kings. He’s been in the NBA since 2009.
DeRozan has played in 63 postseason games with the Raptors, Spurs and Bulls. He has career playoff averages of 21.8 points per game.
Denver won the championship in 2023 but hasn’t advanced past the second round since then despite having superstar center Nikola Jokić.
The Nuggets lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of this year’s playoffs in six games. Jokić averaged 25.8 points, 13.2 rebounds and 9.5 assists per game in the Timberwolves series while shooting 44.6% from the field, an atrocious 19.4% from beyond the arc and 93.0% from the free-throw line. He had 23 turnovers in six games.
An eight-time All-Star and three-time MVP, Jokić finished the regular season averaging 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds and 10.7 assists per game. He was an MVP finalist.
When a reporter asked Jokić after the Timberwolves series if the Nuggets need to make roster changes this offseason, the big man said, “That’s not my decision to be honest. Definitely if we were in Serbia, we would all get fired.”
Jokić has been in the NBA since 2015. He holds career averages of 22.2 points, 11.1 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game in the regular season and 27.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game in the playoffs.
The Nuggets, Cavaliers and LA Clippers have agreed on a trade that will send Watson to Cleveland and Max Strus to Los Angeles. As part of the multi-team deal, Denver will receive an unprotected 2031 Cavaliers first-round pick and a 2032 Kings second-rounder.
Watson will sign a new four-year, $88 million deal to join the Cavaliers. The deal includes a player option and a trade kicker.
The Nuggets’ roster is currently headlined by Jokić, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun and Cameron Johnson. It will be intriguing to see if they add DeRozan.
