The reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets entered Summer League hoping to see positive developments from key young players after losing Bruce Brown and Jeff Green, two vital pieces to their championship run, in free agency. Christian Braun emerged as a key rotation piece last season as a rookie, and the Nuggets need guys to follow in their footsteps. Luckily, two guys in particular look like they're ready for rotation spots.

Peyton Watson is ready for rotation minutes

Peyton Watson was another rookie the Nuggets drafted in the first round last season. Unlike Christian Braun, however, Denver essentially redshirted Watson and groomed him in the G League. Watson played fewer than 200 NBA minutes last season, while Braun played more than that in the playoffs alone. After the Nuggets deployed Aaron Gordon as their backup center, it would make sense for them to use Watson as a replacement for Green in the minutes Green played with Gordon in those situations.

Making plays like this will help your case to get those minutes:

Watson didn't play much in the regular season, but his physicality and versatility was quickly evident. That carried over into Summer League:

The bigger question with Watson will be how he is deployed offensively. He wasn't much of a shooter at UCLA, shooting 22.6% from 3 and 68.8% from the free throw line, but he flashed as a slasher during Summer League.

In two Summer League games, Watson averaged 19.0 points on 52.2% shooting from the field and 64.7% on 2-pointers, though he did shoot only 20.0% from 3. The 64.7% on shots inside the arc is an important number, though. The floor is going to be spread with the shooting the Nuggets have, and Watson is playing with the best passing big man in the history of the sport in Nikola Jokic. He is going to get a lot of good looks at the rim, which he can capitalize one:

https://twitter.com/IQfor3/status/1677452635832475651

Tommy Balcetis, the assistant GM for the Denver Nuggets, has already stated on the record that he feels very comfortable with both Watson and Braun getting more playing time this season. Watson looks ready for the challenge, so we'll see what he brings to the defending champs soon.

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Julian Strawther looks ready for playing time

If Peyton Watson is going to replace Jeff Green, who will replace Bruce Brown? The answer is likely a committee that includes more Christian Braun, Reggie Jackson (who inexplicably got Denver's taxpayer midlevel exception), and rookie Julian Strawther. Strawther is not a creator the way Brown was during his lone season at the Mile High City, but his game is built to shine as a role player alongside great players:

Strawther is a great defender and a solid shooter. In three collegiate seasons, he shot 38.4% on four attempts per game. Not only can he shoot, but he knows how to attack a closeout, a vital skill for NBA role players:

Strawther is also an active player off-ball. As we mentioned earlier, if you play with Nikola Jokic and move without the ball, you're going to get easy points. Strawther should get more of these in the NBA:

Strawther averaged 18.2 points on 40.0% shooting and 34.0% from deep in five Summer League games. The efficiency wasn't always there, but he was very promising overall and flashed the skill set that made him a first-round pick. His fit next to Denver's core is there. Denver might bring him (and their other rookies in Hunter Tyson and Jalen Pickett) along slowly as they did with Braun and Watson, but don't be surprised if we see Strawther helps the Nuggets win a playoff game next season.