When Calvin Booth assumed the primary roster-building responsibilities from Tim Connelly in the summer of 2022, he wasted little time putting his stamp on the Denver Nuggets. His first significant move was trading up in the draft to select Peyton Watson. What followed was a series of aggressive maneuvers that repeatedly mortgaged the team’s future first- and second-round picks. Years later, with Booth no longer at the helm, the Nuggets are still living with the consequences of those decisions.
The cost of that initial 2022 move is now crystal clear. The trade-up for Watson sent Denver’s 2027 first-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Watson, a restricted free agent this offseason, could command an offer sheet that the Nuggets might have to match — or risk losing him for nothing. Either way, the return on that surrendered future first-rounder looks painfully thin.
Booth wasn’t finished. In the 2023 draft, he executed a four-team deal that sent Denver’s 2029 first-round pick to Oklahoma City in exchange for Jalen Pickett, Julian Strawther, and Hunter Tyson. On paper, it brought in young depth behind the championship core. In practice, none of the three made a meaningful impact during the Nuggets’ disappointing first-round exit against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Tyson was ultimately cut at the trade deadline to shed luxury-tax obligations, while Watson missed time with injury. The Thunder, already stacked with talent, simply added two more future first-round assets to their war chest.
The ripple effects extend far beyond those two picks. Thanks to NBA draft protection language attached to the Oklahoma City deals, Denver’s 2028 and 2030 first-round picks are heavily restricted and largely untradeable. That leaves 2031 as the next clean first-rounder on the books (beyond this year’s selection), while the 2032 first was already sent out in the Cameron Johnson trade prior to this season. Barring new acquisitions, the Nuggets could have as few as three first-round picks over the next six years.
The second-round picture is equally bleak. Booth traded away nearly the entire slate of future seconds. Denver has no second-round pick after this season until 2033, unless their 2028 second-rounder lands between picks 31 and 33 — in which case they keep it; otherwise, it goes to Washington.
Even more recent moves followed the same pattern. In the 2024 draft, Booth traded up again for DaRon Holmes II, envisioned as a developmental backup for Nikola Jokić. The package included Denver’s 2026 second-round pick, 2031 second-round pick, and 2024 second-rounder. Holmes has seen only limited garbage-time minutes so far.
The Reggie Jackson signing and subsequent departure told a similar story. After bringing in the veteran point guard as backup help, Booth later had to attach the 2025, 2029, and 2030 second-round picks just to move him off the books and create financial flexibility.
The result is a franchise whose path to conventional rebuilding — or even meaningful retooling around the aging core of Jokić, Jamal Murray, and Aaron Gordon — has been severely compromised. Draft capital is the lifeblood of sustainable NBA roster construction. Without it, teams lose leverage in trades, flexibility in free agency, and the ability to inject cost-controlled youth into the rotation.
The Nuggets now face a multi-year untangling project. Future executives will have to find creative ways to replenish the asset pool, whether through shrewd veteran trades, undrafted talent development, or opportunistic sign-and-trades. It won’t be easy. Acquiring first-round picks on the open market is notoriously difficult, especially when a team is neither a full rebuild candidate nor a clear contender with immediate title upside.
Calvin Booth’s tenure produced one championship alongside Connelly’s earlier foundation, but the long-term price is now coming due. The knots he tied in Denver’s future draft capital are real, and they are not loosening anytime soon. For a franchise that built its recent success on smart, patient asset management, the current situation is both unbelievable and entirely self-inflicted. The untangling begins now — and it will define the Nuggets’ trajectory for years to come.