After a year’s worth of work, Peyton Watson is ready for Vegas to let the chips fall where they may.
Watson is returning to Las Vegas for a second NBA Summer League with the Nuggets. While his rookie regular season featured a couple of stints in the G League, most of his work was conducted behind the scenes in Denver. He wants to show the fruits of that labor when the Nuggets start Summer League Friday.
“No days off the entire year,” Watson said after Monday’s practice at Ball Arena. “I just feel, like, a sense of comfortability. You know, coming in last year, my back was on the wall. I had everything to prove. I’m still proving things, but I found a place where I fit, where they embrace me. So now it’s just about getting better and continuing to help us win.”
Watson is the only player on the summer squad who played for the Nuggets last season. He played in 23 games, averaging 3.3 points and 1.6 rebounds as a rookie, and also got in five postseason games on Denver’s championship run. That sets him up to be more of a leader this summer, as the Nuggets look to introduce three draft picks in Julian Strawther, Jalen Pickett and Hunter Tyson.
“I’m going to challenge him more so mentally than anything,” Nuggets assistant and Summer League coach John Beckett said of Watson.
That means leading drills, helping the many newcomers grasp the Nuggets’ terminology and strategy and relaying what he sees on the court to the coaches. A year after learning for himself on a Summer League team that did not feature any returning players with NBA experience for the Nuggets, Watson said Day 1 of Year 2 was productive.
“It was great. It was high intensity, a lot of learning,” Watson said. “You know, it’s hard to learn those new terminologies and everything in one day. It’s going to be a week’s work, but we’re getting better and better by the day. We can’t wait to get to Vegas.”
On the court, the 20-year-old said he wants to showcase an improved 3-point shot and more comfortability as he figures out his offensive role in the NBA. He should get plenty of opportunities to explore his game in Summer League.
“Peyton’s always had a certain hunger. Peyton’s always been very confident, always wanted to play,” Beckett said. “So, now he’s getting the opportunity to get out there and a lot of the offense will revolve around him. Defensively, he’ll get the challenge of guarding a lot of the opposing team’s best players.”
The reward for the work could be more rotation minutes in his second season. The Nuggets have more bench minutes available after Bruce Brown (Indiana) and Jeff Green (Houston) signed elsewhere in free agency. Watson’s confident the work will be worth it.
“I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get on the floor and play. Offensively, defensively, 50-50 balls, whatever it takes, I’m ready to play. That’s why it’s important for me to be back here early, working with the guys and being in the gym for them to see my face. I want to be around when it becomes time to make decisions,” Watson said.
“I never question my game. I just go out there, play my hardest, try my best and the chips will fall where they may.”
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Strawther survives stormy Red Rocks workout
Julian Strawther’s first trip to Red Rocks was something out of a movie, but not in a good way.
Denver’s rookies and a couple of other young players went to Morrison last week for a Nuggets rite of passage. The Nuggets’ strength and conditioning staff puts the players through a grueling workout on the stairs lining the famous amphitheater. Players also have to climb to rows where concertgoers typically sit and more.
Rain and hail made it more painful, Strawther said.
“I thought I was in a 'Rocky' movie or something like that,” Strawther said.
The Las Vegas native said he’s excited to return home for Summer League and added that the Red Rocks workout should pay off Friday when the Nuggets play their first game of the summer.
Nuggets' Summer League schedule
Friday: Nuggets vs. Bucks (3 pm, ESPNU/Altitude TV)
Sunday: Nuggets vs. Hawks (7:30 pm, NBATV/Altitude TV)
Wednesday, July 12: Nuggets vs. Jazz (7:30 pm, NBATV/Altitude TV)
Friday, July 14: Nuggets vs. Heat (7 pm, ESPN2/Altitude TV)
