Roundup
Denver Nuggets
Minnesota Timberwolves
Oklahoma City Thunder
Portland Trail Blazers
Utah Jazz
Season tipoff and Peyton Watson move: Northwest Division roundup
The NBA returns after a 128-day break and the Northwest Division gets set, with Peyton Watson’s exit from Denver in the background.
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There were no Northwest Division games on the board yesterday, but the stage is set for the start of the 2026-27 campaign. As Hoops Rumors notes, the NBA returns on Tuesday after a 128-day offseason, with an opening-day triple-header that begins in the afternoon when the Detroit Pistons visit the Boston Celtics.
In the standings, only the Oklahoma City Thunder have played so far, sitting at 1-0. The Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers all remain at 0-0 as they wait for their season openers.
Nuggets: turning the page after Peyton Watson’s exit
For Denver, the main storyline is a confirmed departure. Hoops Rumors reiterates that forward Peyton Watson was acquired by the Cleveland Cavaliers from the Nuggets in a sign-and-trade. Watson is intent on bringing a hard-edged mentality to his new team, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com as cited by Hoops Rumors. For the Nuggets, it’s one less familiar face in the mix as they prepare to launch their title defense hopes for a new season.
Thunder: already 1-0 and part of prediction chatter
Oklahoma City is the only Northwest team with a win on the board at 1-0, giving the Thunder a small head start in the division race. Hoops Rumors also runs a "Community Shootaround" on 2026-27 NBA predictions, a discussion that the site tags to the Thunder among others, underscoring that Oklahoma City is firmly on the radar as observers size up the Western Conference landscape.
Timberwolves, Jazz and Blazers waiting in the wings
The Timberwolves, Jazz and Trail Blazers are all sitting at 0-0, with their regular-season storylines still to be written. Hoops Rumors points out that the entire league is coming off a lengthy 128-day break, and these three Northwest clubs are no exception. With no fresh headlines tied specifically to them on the eve of opening night, attention now shifts to how each group will look once the ball goes up and rotations, roles and pecking orders start to take shape under real game pressure.