Cavaliers reportedly heavily pursuing $11M NBA champion, breakout 3-and-D to pair with James Harden

Peyton Watson is a restricted free agent looking to secure his first major contract in the NBA, but the situation is more complicated than that. The Denver Nuggets have little flexibility to offer him the money he wants, and they also do not want to simply let him walk for nothing.

Watson had a breakout season last year and is looking to take another step forward. Still, the Nuggets continue to lowball him in contract negotiations.

“The Nuggets' offer for Peyton Watson remains in the $16-18 million per year range, per The Stein Line. Denver and Watson's representatives, Klutch Sports, are dug in on their value. If Denver doesn't want to cooperate on a sign-and-trade, Watson could take the qualifying offer," NBA reporter Evan Sidery wrote.

If the Nuggets continue to refuse to meet Watson’s asking price and a trade becomes unlikely, the young wing is considering taking the qualifying offer.

“The top restricted free agents — Jalen Duren, Peyton Watson and Bennedict Mathurin — are now all considering taking their qualifying offers to become unrestricted in 2027. As negotiations stall out across the board, these three could become trendsetters against the RFA process,” Sidery posted.

There may still be some light at the end of the tunnel for Watson. The Cleveland Cavaliers have legitimately positioned themselves as a potential landing spot for him. Over the last week, Cleveland has been pushing hard to acquire the NBA champion.

“I’m told that they [Cavs] are a ‘serious’ candidate to land Peyton Watson. There are other teams interested in Watson as well, but they are a serious candidate,” ESPN’s Dave McMenamin said.

The Cavaliers are looking for a starting wing and had been pursuing Jonathan Kuminga for much of the summer. It now appears Watson has become the player they want, and Cleveland is being very aggressive in its pursuit.

Watson has made $11 million throughout his young career. Cleveland could be in a great position if it is able to land him in a sign-and-trade. Adding Watson would give the Cavaliers another talented two-way wing and could further strengthen their case as a legitimate championship contender in the Eastern Conference.

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