The Nuggets didn’t want a player in return for Peyton Watson. They wanted the kind of draft asset that can swing a future deal, and they saw Cleveland’s unprotected 2031 first-round pick as the best piece on the board.
According to team sources cited by Bennett Durando of The Denver Post, Denver surveyed the market and decided that pick carried more value than any player it could have landed in a Watson sign-and-trade.
That wasn’t the end of the thinking, either. Durando reports the Nuggets don’t view the pick as something they’re necessarily going to keep. The expectation is that Denver will eventually try to package it in another trade, likely one aimed at helping Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets win now.
Cleveland ended up being the late entrant that changed the deal. The Cavaliers were the only team willing to put an unprotected first-rounder on the table. Denver had also discussed possible sign-and-trades with the Clippers, Bucks, Hawks and Trail Blazers, but none matched what Cleveland was offering.
In the end, the Cavaliers signed Watson to a four-year, $88 million contract, and Denver got back the 2031 first-round pick plus a 2032 second-rounder.
It’s a real gamble for Cleveland. The Cavs are built to contend now, and Watson is projected to start at small forward. But 2031 is a long way off, and an unprotected first can become a very attractive asset if the wrong stretch of years hits.
Denver clearly saw it that way. The Nuggets preferred the upside of that pick over any player they could have brought in immediately.
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For Cleveland, the appeal is obvious: Watson arrives with experience from a championship team and a profile that suggests he can grow into more than a depth piece. The Cavs are looking at how his athleticism and developing skill set can complement the rest of the roster, and the fact that he is already training with the leagues biggest names only adds to the sense that his role could become larger than expected once the season gets going. [Read more 🡒]
Cavs Still Have One Hurdle Before James Harden Can Return
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What remains is a matter of fitting the contract into the teams current structure, and Cleveland is still working through the last bit of maneuvering. Harden is expected to either accept a slightly reduced deal or wait for the Cavaliers to make another roster move, which leaves one final hurdle before the signing can become official. [Read more 🡒]
LeBron's Latest Move Just Changed The Cavs Legacy Conversation
The 2015-16 Cavaliers have always occupied a singular place in Cleveland sports history, not just because they brought the city its long-awaited championship, but because of the way they did it. Led by LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, that group stared down a 3-1 deficit against the Golden State Warriors and still came out on top in the NBA Finals, a run that cemented its place among the most memorable teams of its era. Bleacher Report recently ranked that squad 89th on its list of the best sports teams of all time, another reminder that the Cavs title team remains part of a broader national conversation.
LeBrons latest career move has only added another layer to how that season is remembered in Cleveland. He has signed a two-year deal with the Philadelphia 76ers and said his goal remains to keep competing and chasing championships, a familiar refrain from a player whose career has been defined by moving toward the best possible title path. For Cavs fans, it also nudges the old legacy debate back into focus, because every new chapter in his career inevitably sends attention back to the team that delivered the citys defining basketball moment. [Read more 🡒]