DeMar DeRozan to sign with Nuggets on one-year deal

The Nuggets lost Peyton Watson this week. They didn’t wait long to add another pretty recognizable name to the roster.

Veteran forward DeMar DeRozan plans to sign a one-year, $3.9 million contract with Denver, according to Chris Haynes of NBA on Prime.

And apparently the Nuggets’ stars helped close the deal.

Haynes reported that Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon were involved in recruiting DeRozan, who wanted an opportunity to join a contender after being waived by the Kings earlier this offseason.

DeRozan, who turned 37 this month, certainly isn’t the same player who made six All-Star teams. But at the veteran minimum? There’s not much to dislike.

He averaged 18.4 points, 4.1 assists and 2.9 rebounds in 77 games for Sacramento last season, shooting 49.7 percent from the field. Durability hasn’t been much of an issue, either. DeRozan has appeared in at least 74 games in each of the past five seasons.

The interesting part will be his role.

DeRozan has started 1,252 of his 1,264 career games, but he’s expected to come off the bench in Denver. If he’s willing to embrace that job, the Nuggets just added an experienced scorer and late-game shot creator for essentially nothing.

Denver sent Watson to the Cavaliers in Thursday’s five-team trade, receiving Cleveland’s unprotected 2031 first-round pick and a 2032 second-rounder.

The Nuggets also lost Tim Hardaway Jr. in free agency, while Bruce Brown remains unsigned.

So Watson is gone. DeRozan is in. For a team still trying to squeeze another championship run out of the Jokic era, that’s a pretty interesting pivot.