Michael Porter Jr’s appearance at Nuggets game ignites speculation about potential Nets free agent target

The Brooklyn Nets are in New Orleans ahead of Wednesday’s matchup with the Pelicans. With the Denver Nuggets also in town to face the Pelicans on Tuesday, Michael Porter Jr. stopped by Smoothie King Center to watch his former team.

Porter had a front-row seat as Peyton Watson led the Nuggets to a 122-116 victory. Watson scored 31 points on 11-of-16 shooting with seven rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block.

The 23-year-old showed love to Porter after the performance, which continued a breakout stretch.

"That's my dog."

Following his impressive 31-point performance, Peyton Watson was hyped up to greet his pal, Michael Porter Jr., who was in attendance cheering his former teammate on pic.twitter.com/ep2OqIHreN

— NBA (@NBA) January 14, 2026

Peyton Watson 31-7-5-2-1 (11/16 FG), +15 pic.twitter.com/4BczdPuI0G

— Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) January 14, 2026

Watson has emerged as the Nuggets’ No. 2 scorer with Nikola Jokic sidelined, averaging 24.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists on .511/.442/.731 shooting splits over his last eight appearances.

His recent performance has led some Nets fans to speculate that he could be a free-agent target for Brooklyn this summer.

Will Peyton Watson be a Nets free agent target this summer?

After failing to agree to a contract extension with Denver, Watson is heading for restricted free agency. With over $200 million in committed salary on the Nuggets’ books next season, his play could put him outside of the team’s price range.

Brooklyn could be among the teams with cap space interested in his services. The Nets are one of five teams projected to have over $40 million in cap space this summer, alongside the Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Washington Wizards and Utah Jazz, according to Spotrac’s Keith Smith.

Did a new round of updated 2026 cap space projections (with updated projected standings for draft picks and option projections):

1 Clippers: $67.6M
2 Lakers: $55.1M
3 Wizards: $50.0M
4 Jazz: $49.4M
5 Nets: $48.8M
6 Bulls: $33.4M
7 Hawks: $23.3M

Obviously, very fluid right now!

— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) January 9, 2026

While the Nets are tanking this season, they’ll attempt to take a step towards the playoffs in 2026-27, as they owe an unprotected pick swap to the Houston Rockets.

Brooklyn’s front office had a clear strategy in June’s draft, prioritizing players with positional size and offensive versatility.

“It’s 0.5 [second] basketball. You catch and make a decision, you don’t hold the ball… It’s also where the NBA is going: guys who can play multiple positions, guard multiple positions, and make it hard on the defense,” General Manager Sean Marks said after the draft.

Watson meets that criteria. At 6-foot-8 with a seven-foot wingspan and fluid athleticism, he’s a plus defender, and his growing offensive skill set has been on full display in Jokic’s absence.

If Brooklyn’s front office believes in Watson’s ascension, the team could offer the young wing a featured role in one of the NBA’s biggest markets.

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