The Nuggets have absolutely fumbled the bag this offseason. With reports of the Blazers working towards a buyout with Jrue Holiday, the Nuggets have an opportunity to buy low on a fantastic player who would fit seamlessly into their offense. The Blazers save ~40 million in swapping Holiday for Cam Johnson (an expiring contract) and an SRP. Johnson had a down year, but still has a lot to offer a Blazers team with a relatively weak forward rotation behind Denni and Camara. Denver is only able to complete this trade by salary-dumping Zeke Naji and Christian Braun, two of the lowest-value contracts in the league atm, and the rest of Denver's valuable picks, including the '31 and '33 swaps. In return, Denver clears enough cap space to sign Payton Watson to a deal he wants and to get Scotty Pippen Jr., a capable backup PG, to round out the roster. These trades round out Denver's lineup, providing better point/wing defense, three-point shooting, and, most importantly, showing Jokic that the front office remains committed to giving him everything he needs to compete for another NBA championship.

My main caveat here is that Watson is reportedly seeking more than 21 million (more than Braun's contract), so hopefully moving on from Braun would convince him to stay. Denver is losing the last of their tradeable draft capital, which is scary, but I think the return is worth it. Also, this is a lot of salary for Memphis to take on, especially in Braun's contract so I am not sure anything but an unprotected first could get it done.