Michael Porter Jr.’s appearance at Nuggets game sparks speculation about potential free agent target in Brooklyn

The Brooklyn Nets are in New Orleans ahead of Wednesday’s game with the Pelicans. With Denver Nuggets also in town to face the Pelicans on Tuesday, Michael Porter Jr. stopped by the Smoothie King Center to check out 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 his love for Porter after the performance, which continued the breakthrough.

“That’s my dog.”

After his impressive 31-point performance, Peyton Watson was thrilled to greet his friend, Michael Porter Jr., who was in attendance to cheer on his former teammate 💪 pic.twitter.com/ep2OkIHreN

— 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 become the Nuggets’ second leading scorer while Nikola Jokic has been sidelined, averaging 24.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists on .511/.442/.731 shooting over his last eight games.

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 free agent target for the Nets this summer?

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

Brooklyn could be among the cap space teams interested in his services. The Nets are one of five teams projected to have more than $40 million in cap space this summer, along with 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 draft pick placement and option projections):

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

Obviously, very fluent right now!

— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) January 9, 2026

While the Nets are down this season, they will try to make a push toward the playoffs in 2026-27, as they owe an unprotected pick trade 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 (seconds) of basketball. You catch and make a decision, you don’t hold the ball. … That’s also where the NBA is going: guys who can play multiple positions, guard multiple positions and make defenses difficult,” general manager Sean Marks said after the draft.

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

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