{"id":820734,"date":"2026-08-26T03:00:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T03:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/820734\/"},"modified":"2026-08-26T03:00:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T03:00:16","slug":"northwest-notes-watson-nuggets-offseason-a-rod-adelman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/820734\/","title":{"rendered":"Northwest Notes: Watson, Nuggets Offseason, A-Rod, Adelman"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n By Dana Gauruder<\/a> |
\n at August 25, 2026 9:52 pm <\/p>\n

Peyton Watson<\/a>, who was dealt to the Cavaliers in a sign-and-trade<\/a> transaction, posted a farewell message to Nuggets fans on Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cNuggets Nation and the city of Denver, thank you for having me for the first four years of my career. As a young NBA player, who was a bit naive and hadn\u2019t seen much of the real world, you guys took care of me better than I could have ever imagined. Thanks for that. Playing this game every night on the national stage is difficult on both the body and the mind, but the love from the fans always makes it so worthwhile.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s more from the Northwest Division:<\/p>\n

Losing Watson and essentially replacing him with 37-year-old DeMar DeRozan<\/a> will come at the expense of floor-spacing around Nikola Jokic<\/a>, according to ESPN Insiders<\/a> in their offseason review of the Nuggets. The Nuggets didn\u2019t get to reap the long-term rewards of developing Watson from a raw reserve into a major contributor. However, ESPN projects Denver will still wind up with at least 50 wins for the fifth straight season.
\nTimberwolves co-owner Alex Rodriguez posted a statement<\/a> on Twitter regarding Marc Lore\u2019s decision to sell<\/a> his controlling interest to\u00a0 Marc Stad. Rodriguez indicated he would be increasing his stake in the franchise and expanding his role. \u201cOne of the great joys I\u2019ve had in my career is spending the last few years helping build the Timberwolves and Lynx with my friend and partner Marc Lore. I\u2019m very excited to announce that this incredible journey reaches a new level,\u201d he wrote. \u201cMarc and Elisa Stad, who have been our partners and friends since we bought the teams, will be increasing their investment and joining me as Co-Chairman. I will also be increasing my investment and spending even more time with the teams as Co-Chairman, Governor of the Lynx, and alternate Governor of the Timberwolves, pending league approval. While Marc Lore will be reducing his role and ownership to focus on his business, he remains an investor and a key part of our partnership. I could not be more energized about this evolution and what we\u2019re all going to do together for the Twin Cities.\u201d
\nThe Trail Blazers will honor Rick Adelman with a band on our jerseys for the 2026\/27 season as well as a tribute game on Dec. 15 against the Nuggets, the team tweets<\/a>. Adelman was the team\u2019s head coach from 1970-73 and 1989-94. The Hall of Fame coach passed away on June 1.<\/p>\n