The Denver Nuggets haven't been shy about their desire to sign free agent Peyton Watson, who had a breakout year with the Nuggets last season, to a new contract, but that doesn't mean that the Nuggets have been all that aggressive in their pursuit of their supposed top priority.

The pursuit of Watson for any team has now dragged on to the late stages of the offseason, mostly due to the talent that was available in both the trade and free agent markets and also because of Watson's status as a restricted free agent, which applies a new layer of nuance to the negotiating process. 

From the Nuggets' perspective, waiting out the process to get a since of the other offers that Watson will warrant makes sense, but that this point the Nuggets are well aware of the price range that Watson is looking for, yet they don't seem interested in matching it, based on a recent report from Marc Stein in the Stein Line. 

Throughout the offseason, it's been made clear that Watson's desired price range has been placed in comparison to Christian Braun's current contract with Denver, which is a $25 million average annual value, and Watson is reportedly looking to match if not exceed that range. 

The peak of Watson's expected price range is something in the $28-30 million area, but according to Stein, Denver's initial offers are nowhere close to that.

“Denver's initial offers to restricted free agent Peyton Watson, league sources say, have been in the $16-to-18 million range in terms of annual average value. Watson, of course, is known to be seeking a deal with a richer per-season salary than teammate Christian Braun's five-year, $125 million rookie scale contract extension that Braun secured last October," Stein wrote. 

Denver lowballing Watson to such a severe degree raises a lot of questions about what the Nuggets' actual intentions with Watson are. The Nuggets have said that they're interested in matching any offer that comes Watson's way, but if that offer is $10 million or more than what the Nuggets actually offered, that adds some suspicion to the voracity of the Nuggets' intentions. 

At the moment, Denver's offers aren't anywhere close to what will likely secure Watson, which could lead Denver to a different direction, whether that's hoping that Watson accepts a qualifying offer to play one more season before re-entering free agency, or if the Nuggets are more interested in a sign-and-trade deal for Watson to try and get some value out of him if they aren't willing to pay him themselves. 

There's still time for Denver to try and make a move, but if they're committed to the price range that Stein reported they initially proposed, then it's hard to see a future where Watson actually does stay with Denver for the foreseeable future.