Cavs, Nuggets, Clippers, Hornets, Wizards Finalize Watson Trade

The Cavs are the only club that has yet to announce the news, but we know all the moving parts from the other teams involved. The trade is also on NBA.com’s official transaction log.

Here’s the full breakdown of the trade, which was initially reported as two separate agreements but was completed as one five team-mega deal:

• Cavaliers acquire Peyton Watson (sign-and-trade; from Nuggets), Cam Whitmore (from Wizards), and the draft rights to Ismael Kamagate (from Clippers).
• Nuggets acquire Julian Reese (two-way; from Wizards), the Cavaliers’ 2031 first-round pick (from Cavaliers), and the Kings’ 2032 second-round pick (from Cavaliers).
• Clippers acquire Max Strus (from Cavaliers).
• Hornets acquire Dennis Schröder (from Cavaliers) and cash (from Cavaliers).
• Wizards acquire Tre Mann (from Hornets), a 2027 second-round pick (from Clippers), and cash (from Cavaliers).

Watson will reportedly receive a four-year, $88MM deal from the Cavaliers that includes a fourth-year player option and a 7.5% trade kicker. The former No. 30 overall pick had a breakout fourth season for Denver, averaging 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.1 blocks and 0.9 steals in 29.6 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .496/.411/.730.

It’s possible Whitmore may not be with the Cavaliers for long. Spencer Davies reported Thursday (via Twitter) that Cleveland was “still working through” the 22-year-old’s acquisition, which suggests he could end up on the move again.

As Yossi Gozlan of Third Apron observed (All Twitter links), in order to sign James Harden to the reported terms (three years, $97MM) of his new contract, the Cavs might choose to waive Whitmore and use the stretch provision to spread his $5,458,310 salary over the next three years, resulting in a $1,819,437 annual cap hit through 2028/29. The team could also look to trade him in a separate agreement. 

French center Kamagate could end up playing an important role in Cleveland’s ability to stay under the first tax apron, at which the Cavs are hard-capped after acquiring Watson via sign-and-trade. The 25-year-old big man has been stashed overseas for the past few years, but the former No. 46 overall pick would count as a rookie minimum if he’s signed to a standard contract since the team controls his draft rights.

As our Luke Adams explained this morning, the Nuggets were able to acquire Reese despite being over the second apron because he’s on a two-way contract, which doesn’t count against the salary cap. The former Maryland power forward will reportedly be waived by Denver.

In addition to the draft assets above, Denver will also generate a trade exception worth 50% of Watson’s starting salary. However, the team won’t actually be able to use the TPE unless it moves below the second apron. The Nuggets are said to be targeting DeMar DeRozan with their 14th roster spot.

The Clippers acquired Strus ($16.66MM) using the $17MM traded player exception they created when they signed and traded John Collins to Detroit. President of basketball operations Lawrence Frank suggested Los Angeles is high on Strus, who has experience with Darius Garland and is on track for unrestricted free agency next year.

“We are going to be a highly competitive team this season and Max will be a big part of it,” said Frank. “He is a great shooter with good feel who can handle and pass. Max competes on both ends of the court and his versatility allows him to play different roles with different groups. He fits anywhere and we’re excited to bring him to L.A.”

The Hornets acquired veteran point guard Schröder for backcourt depth behind Coby White. They’ll reportedly receive around $4MM in cash from Cleveland for taking on the extra money Schröder is owed compared to Mann.

Washington was also looking for a backup point guard and had a logjam at the wing, which is why the Wizards wanted Mann and were willing to trade Whitmore, whose third season was cut short due to a blood clot in his shoulder. They’ll pick up a second-round pick (Adams’ story has more details on that) and cash in the deal too.