The Denver Nuggets have completed a 3 team trade which will see Peyton Watson head to the Cavaliers, Max Strus to the Clippers, and multiple picks head to Denver.
As part of the deal, the Nuggets will receive an unprotected 2031 1st round pick from Cleveland, as well as a 2032 second round pick which belonged to the Sacramento Kings. Los Angeles will then send a 2027 second rounder which previously belonged to Philadelphia to Cleveland to add Strus. Watson, who has been needing for a new extension all summer, will then ink a 4 year, $88M deal with a player option and trade kicker with the Cavs.
Watson entered the offseason as a restricted free agent, and had garnered interest from numerous clubs including the Cavaliers, Clippers, Trail Blazers, and Bucks. While Denver initially tried to move salaries out in order to retain the dynamic wing, their financial outlook proved prohibitive in getting a long term deal done with the 6’8″ small forward.
Watson averaged 14.6pts / 4.9reb / 2.1ast per game for Denver last season, setting career highs in virtually every statistical category. The 23 year old ranks second in field goal percentage allowed as the contesting defender amongst players to contest at least 2,000 shots since entering the league in 2022-23. That kind of two way versatility was something the Cavaliers desperately needed during their playoff run last season which ended at the hands of the New York Knicks.
To make the deal official, Cleveland is also sending Tre Mann and the 2027 second round pick acquired from Los Angeles to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Cam Whitmore. Washington will then send Julian Reese to the Nuggets who are reportedly planning to waive the forward who is currently on a two-way deal.
By moving Mann, Washington gets some additional guard depth, while Cleveland gets another rotational piece on a cheaper contract to manage their luxury tax implications.
Overall the deal is a blow to the Nuggets immediate future outlook as the team remains $1.3M over the second apron while still having two open roster spots to fill. Watson was a solid contributor who took a massive leap forward in 2025-26, but ultimately proved too costly for the team’s front office.
The one saving grace in the deal is the 1st rounder coming back their way. While it will do little to help them compete immediately, it effectively becomes one of their few assets of value that doesn’t take away from their current core which they can now trade.
While the team will remain competitive in the Western Conference thanks to a starting lineup that features Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, Cameron Johnson, Aaron Gordon and Nikola Jokic, their depth is extremely thin at the moment. The question now becomes how Ben Tenzer and Jon Wallace plan to navigate their current cap situation, how they fill their two remaining roster spots, and whether their newly acquired 1st rounder is something they dangle before the season begins, or whether that becomes an asset for an in season move.
Photo: Jeff Ruane. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.