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Peyton Watson's long free agency finally ended on Wednesday evening. He was sign-and-traded to the Cavs, giving Cleveland the athletic wing they've been trying to find for years.
The price for the Cavs was high, and the loss for the Nuggets had to sting after seeing Watson break out last season. Did Cleveland pay too much on their gamble? Did the Nuggets get enough back for their homegrown success story? And was it worth it for the Clippers to swoop in and grab Max Strus?
While this trade ultimately ended up being rolled into a bigger five-team transaction, here's how the Watson-related portion of the trade shook out for the Cavs, Nuggets, and Clippers.
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Peyton Watson trade details
Cavs receive:
- Peyton Watson
- 2027 second-round pick
Clippers receive:
- Max Strus
Nuggets receive:
- Unprotected 2031 first-round pick (via CLE)
- 2032 second-round pick
Cavs trade grade
The Cavs gave up a lot to get Watson. Strus was a pivotal glue guy who provided much-needed defensive toughness and complementary shooting next to their bigger stars. He's also 30 years old, beginning to decline, and has injury issues in part due to the intense style that he plays.
There's also the unprotected first-round pick in 2031, which projects to be good as Donovan Mitchell will be 36 years old by then, and a 2032 second-rounder. That's a lot of draft equity in exchange for the right to pay Watson a big contract.
That four-year, $88 million contract with a player option and trade kicker might sound like a lot for a player that had three nondescript seasons before a breakout 14.6 points per game last year. But it's a fair deal for the 23-year-old wing and reasonably in line with the $81 million that my salary model has him at.
The Cavs badly need Watson's perimeter defense to cover for Mitchell and James Harden, who will presumably be re-signed next. Like Strus, Watson is a good defender, and he has youth on his side to continue to improve.
Watson is a nice fit offensively too. It's fair to question if his 41.1 percent from 3 last season is real given that he was getting set up by the greatest passer in league history and shot just 32.8 percent in his first three years. He has been unbelievable from the corners over his last two years though, hitting 48 percent of those 157 attempts. He's also a great transition player and solid cutter that can find opportunities to score without having the offense revolve around him.
The Cavs may have made it to the Eastern Conference Finals last season, but they knew that they were still far away from being a Finals team or NBA champion. This does get them closer. The cost though was higher than I'd like.
That 2031 first-round pick has great value. The upgrade from Strus to Watson is unclear, particularly given that there is uncertainty around how real his breakout over 54 games was last season.
The Cavs also lost the ability to make further significant improvements to the team. They have no future firsts to trade this season, and they're hard-capped at the first apron. Despite that loss of flexibility, it's tough to fault them too much for going for it while the East is still pretty open.
The Cavs will also be sending a second round pick, Tre Mann, and cash for Cam Whitmore in order to create more salary flexibility. Whitmore doesn't project to be a major part of the team's rotation, but he's a talented scorer that could work out as a flier at the end of the roster.
Grade: B
Nuggets trade grade
The Nuggets already had a paper-thin bench before trading Watson. They badly needed to keep him on their roster. Instead, they traded him and didn't receive another player back to replace him.
It sounds like insanity to trade their most promising prospect away when they're trying to contend for a title during Nikola Jokic's prime. There were heavy financial implications to keeping Watson due to their repeater tax and second apron status. It would have cost the Nuggets over $150 million in tax payments alone, per ClutchPoints' Brett Siegel.
That simply isn't feasible for any owner not named Steve Ballmer. The Nuggets are going to be killed publicly for this trade, but they were forced into it due to the earlier sins of giving Christian Braun, Jamal Murray, and Zeke Nnaji way-too-large contracts years ago. Those were the sunk costs from a previous regime, so I am not counting them towards this individual transaction.
Putting aside the financial implications, this trade makes the Nuggets significantly worse in a year where they should be trying to go for it. Even after matching an offer sheet for Spencer Jones, who they were also at risk to lose, they easily have the worst bench in the league.
Denver did add a good first-round pick and a second-rounder that they could presumably use in order to trade for more depth. That is a great return for a player in Watson that they probably were going to let go no matter what.
The Nuggets need to use that draft equity in order to add a player this season, because this roster ain't it. Denver's trade grade is therefore somewhat incomplete until we see what they do with those picks. It will be tricky to make a future trade because of the team's status in the second apron. The painful path forward may be trading a high-salaried starter not named Jokic in exchange for multiple capable players.
Grade: B
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Clippers trade grade
The Clippers saw Strus available for a bargain-bin price and jumped on the offer, acquiring him in exchange for one second-round pick.
Getting a starting-quality player on a fair market expiring $16.7 million contract is a great transaction in a vacuum. For the Clippers, it's slightly more complicated. They already have a ton of wing depth, and this could mean that more trades are coming in-season.
Strus does fit the style the Clippers want to play. Defensive assistant Jeff Van Gundy has prioritized physicality and toughness on defense. Strus isn't afraid to pick up full court. He's going to be a favorite of Van Gundy and head coach Ty Lue and should help make life easier for the defensively-challenged duo of Darius Garland and Keaton Wagler.
Strus could also very realistically have more trade value mid-season as an expiring contract, bringing back more than the second-round pick that the Clippers paid.
Grade: A-
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