Denver Gazette beat writer Vinny Benedetto takes you around the NBA and inside the Nuggets locker room:

NBA Insider

More depth provides more possibilities for David Adelman to ponder on a game-to-game basis, but that luxury comes with complications, too.

NBA teams don’t practice as frequently as they used to. Adelman has talked about varying his team’s looks, playing a two-big lineup featuring Nikola Jokic and Jonas Valanciunas, going small with Peyton Watson or Spencer Jones at the center and altering Jokic’s periods of rest depending on the matchup throughout training camp and preseason.

So, what’s the key to performing consistently when things are liable to frequently change?

“You have to be unselfish — the roster in general. Then, I have to be aware of how teams rotate their players, not the first rotation but the second and third one behind it, because that allows me to make sense of why I play two bigs together or why I would play Peyton at the five or Spencer at the five or Jalen Pickett instead of whoever,” Adelman said Wednesday before the season opener Thursday at Golden State. “You have to respect what other people are doing. Of course you want to control your own situation, but there’s going to be nights we feel like we have an advantage – Cam (Johnson) at the ‘4,’ whatever it may be – it will be based on rotations that we see.

“That was one advantage of Golden State playing last night. We got to see how they rotated.”

Adelman went on to say the Warriors might play differently against the Nuggets on Thursday than they did in their win over the Lakers. Adjusting on the fly is going to be part of the process, especially as guys like Cameron Johnson, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Valanciunas get up to speed playing alongside new groups they’ll spend most of their time on the court alongside. It can be a complicated process, but the positives outweigh the negatives.

“I think the reason why it can change on a game-to-game basis is because we have people that are capable,” Johnson said. “When we see something that we want to take advantage of or a hot hand that we want to put into use a little bit more, I think we have the coaching staff knowledge and player knowledge to make those things work. I think that’s more of a testament to that than kind of keeping us off guard.”

What I’m Thinking

There are three potential outcomes for Peyton Watson in a pivotal season before he enters restricted free agency next summer.

Here’s the upside and downside of each outcome whether he exceeds, meets or comes up short of expectations and what that means for the Nuggets’ complicated salary-cap situation moving forward.

Exceeds expectations

The good news is a breakout season from the 23-year-old wing helps Denver’s chances to win a second championship, but that would mean another roster shakeup.

Watson has impressed in his new role, but that didn’t lead to a contract extension prior to the Monday afternoon deadline.

“I have talked to Peyt throughout the preseason. I’ll say this, Peyton has a chance here. If he has a great year, he can put himself where he wants to. That’s what our league is about. You prove it every day, you prove it every year and eventually if you work hard and do the right things, you’ll benefit,” Adelman said.

“Peyton’s been great. He’s had a really good preseason. Everybody has their time, so he can set his market, and I think he will. He’s been great. He’s been unselfish. He’s been one of the bright spots of this whole month, so I’m expecting a big season from Peyton.”

If Watson plays so well the Nuggets want to match other offers, that might mean someone else on a higher salary like Aaron Gordon or Johnson needs to be moved like last summer’s trade that sent Michael Porter Jr. to Brooklyn. Waiving Valanciunas’ $10 million contract would create additional space, but if Watson’s performance warrants an even bigger deal, the Nuggets’ front office will have to make a tough choice between matching Watson’s offer and deciding to trade an older player like Gordon or Johnson.

Meets expectations

A moderate year-four jump still leaves Denver with a tough decision to make.

If Watson’s next contract comes in the roughly $13 million range, that would mean the Nuggets keep the starting five together for at least one more season, but the Nuggets would also have to move on from Valanciunas. Denver’s struggles finding a consistently serviceable backup center have been well-documented in recent years.

Prioritizing Watson’s potential over the known entity in Valanciunas would bring that issue back next summer, and the Nuggets would likely only have a minimum contract to find another player to back up Jokic.

Short of expectations

If Watson can’t build on a promising preseason when the games really count, it will be easier to retain him next season, but that comes with decreased championship chances in the immediate future.

If the target number to start Watson’s next contract is closer to $10 million, the Nuggets could get there by moving off of Zeke Nnaji’s contract. Nnaji will be on an expiring contract worth $7.5 million next season, but getting someone to take him in a trade would probably require the Nuggets to attach draft capital, and Denver is short on tradeable picks.

Another option includes Valanciunas agreeing to come back on a cheaper deal and some of that money headed Watson’s way. Watson is set to make $4.4 million this season on the final year of his contract, but things would have to go disastrously bad for him to accept a contract well south of the $10 million mark.

What They’re Saying

The Nuggets and Christian Braun agreed to an extension Monday, and Denver’s starting shooting guard of the present and future took some time to talk about the process of negotiating an NBA contract for the first time and his hope of being a Nugget for the rest of his playing days.

“It’s such an interesting thing. Obviously, this is my first time going through it. Negotiations maybe aren’t my thing. I think it kind of felt like you’re against them for a little bit, but I think it worked out really, really well. I’m really happy with the outcome. I’m very, very grateful for everybody involved, everybody who kind of believed in me to get me to this point. I’m really excited to be a Nugget. I’m really excited to focus on basketball. I think that’s the biggest part, focus on winning. I get to go into the year with a clear mind,” Braun said Tuesday.

“I got drafted here. I never changed schools or teams in high school. I never changed in college, and I don’t want to change (teams) in the NBA. I want to be here. I want to be a big part of winning. I want to be a really big part of what happens here and the success that happens in Denver. I want to be a big part of the community. I want to be around these guys. I want to be around this coaching staff, this front office and win with them. That’s always been the biggest thing for me. It’s really cool to be a Nugget, and I want to be a Nugget my whole career, but I understand to do that, we need to win. I think signing a contract before the season has started allows me to focus only on winning.”

Braun’s $125 million extension will keep him in Denver through the 2030-31 season. That’s good news for Braun, the Nuggets and their coach.

“I’m excited. He should be really excited,” Adelman said. “He deserves it. It’s cool to see somebody go through the program here, be part of winning, be part of hanging the banner and then do all the right things and get rewarded for it. That’s what this is supposed to be about. He’s been a main cog of what we do. I’m proud of Christian and happy for him and his family. These moments are cool. I know the money is hard to understand from the outside looking in, but this is a billion-dollar business, and that guy deserves every dollar he’s getting just off of pure hard work and just the ability to know he can get better every day.”

What I’m Following

• The Nuggets picked up the fourth-year option for Julian Strawther’s contract and the third-year option for DaRon Holmes II. Strawther is set to make $4.8 million next season, while Holmes will make $3.4 million.
• The NBA acknowledged Kevin Durant should’ve been called for a technical foul in the final seconds of the first overtime period in Tuesday’s season opener. According to a postgame pool report, none of the officials were looking at Durant, who was signaling for a timeout when the Rockets didn’t have any remaining. It didn’t impact the result, as Oklahoma City went on to win in double overtime.