Cavaliers Peyton Watson sign, trade unlocks James Harden deal

Cleveland Cavaliers Get Peyton Watson

As part of a five-team trade between the Cavaliers, Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, Washington Wizards, and the Hornets — the previous Schroder trade will become part of this bigger, five-team deal — the Cavaliers acquired Watson from the Nuggets and signed him to a four-year, $88 million contract.

As part of the trade, the Nuggets will send future first- and second-round picks to Denver to acquire Watson, who should be a terrific fit in the Cleveland lineup as the team’s starting small forward next season and beyond.

Just 23 years of age, Watson won the NBA Championship in 2023 as a member of the Nuggets, and he has turned into a really solid player since Denver took him 30th overall in the 2022 NBA Draft.

This past season, Watson played in 54 games (40 starts) for Denver, averaging 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game in 29.6 minutes.

At just 23, he has a ton of untapped potential still, and Cleveland clearly believes in that potential, as they coughed up a pair of draft picks and gave a big contract to get Watson in this trade, one that could turn out to be a really shrewd one for the Cavaliers.

By acquiring Watson, the Cavaliers strengthen their starting five for next season, as their starting unit will include Watson, plus three All-Stars in Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen, and potentially one more if they can re-sign him, which we’ll discuss more below.

James Harden is Next For Cleveland

Now that the team has acquired Watson, the next order of business is inking future NBA Hall of Famer James Harden to a new contract.

Harden turned down his $42.3 million player option at the start of free agency to give Cleveland more flexibility to pursue other free agents, with the expectation that he would re-sign with the Cavaliers on a long-term deal.

Two months later, Harden still hasn’t re-signed with Cleveland, which has raised eyebrows.

But now that this Watson deal is complete, re-signing Harden is the team’s next order of business, and it feels likely that a new deal for “The Beard” will be coming any day now.

Since the Cavaliers dumped Strus as part of this trade, they will have roughly $29 million to give to Harden in the first year of his new deal, as they are expected to give him all of their remaining money under the first apron, which was triggered when the Cavaliers acquired Watson via sign-and-trade.

With Harden likely returning to Cleveland, the team will have four All-Stars in its starting lineup plus a young, improving star in Watson. That’s a very good starting five, and one that will help the Cavs remain competitive in the rapidly improving NBA Eastern Conference.

Overall, you have to like what the Cavaliers have done by swinging this trade for Watson, one that certainly makes them a better team going forward.

If they can re-sign Harden, then watch out, as Cleveland will once again be one of the top teams in the East this coming season.