Cleveland Cavaliers fans waiting in painful anticipation for the next move from their team have something to hold onto, a rock of certainty in the stormy seas of rumor.
The Cavaliers are definitely pursuing Peyton Watson.
That has been the rumor for weeks, and reputable sources such as Jake Fischer and Mike Scotto have confirmed it. There is a difference, however, between calling about a player and making moves to aggressively pursue them.
It appears Cleveland is doing the latter.
The Cavaliers are going after Peyton Watson
No member of NBA media is as plugged into the Cavaliers as Brian Windhorst (all due apologies to Chris Fedor, a close second). ESPN's national NBA titan is from Ohio and stepped onto the beat just as LeBron James was coming onto the scene. His rise has mirrored LeBron's to some extent.
If Windhorst reports anything, it's time to listen; if he reports on the Cavaliers, drop everything and lock in. On Tuesday's episode of The Hoop Collective podcast, the topic of the Dennis Schroder trade was brought up. Western Conference reporter Tim McMahon stated that the Schroder deal was a financial one for Cleveland.
Windhorst responded by saying that the Cavaliers were definitely trying to get Peyton Watson.
Such a statement can be taken to the bank, and it cuts through the smokescreens of rumors. This is something the team is certainly doing.
Are they pursuing Jonathan Kuminga? Perhaps, but as a backup plan. Did they trade Schroder to free up money to re-sign James Harden? Perhaps, but not only to do that. The Cavaliers cut $6.8 million from their salary to give them the financial flexibility to pursue Plan A: Peyton Watson.
Signing Watson will come with a cost
If it was as simple as merely offering a contract to Watson, the deal would likely already be done. Because the Cavaliers are over the salary cap, and because the Denver Nuggets hold the restricted free agent rights to Watson, things are more complicated -- and more costly.
The Cavaliers will need to come in with an offer above the Nuggets' best offer, and perhaps substantially so, to convince Watson to leave the only NBA home he has ever known and the side of one of the all-time greats in Nikola Jokic.
Then comes putting together a trade package to incentivize the Nuggets to give up negotiations and move on from him. Now add in salary matching to make the deal legal for Cleveland and keep them under the second tax apron while also retaining enough space to re-sign Harden.
Windhorst reported that if Watson comes in, Max Strus will be sent out. That suggests the Cavaliers have been having substantive conversations with other teams about taking in Strus and his contract. The Nuggets, dealing with the second apron themselves, won't be taking back Strus unless they are also unloading money elsewhere.
Windhorst also pointed out that if the Cavaliers make a deal for Watson, they will have lost Dean Wade, Keon Ellis, Dennis Schroder and Max Strus from last year's team, replacing them with Watson (good) and Tre Mann (not as good). That's a lot of depth to replace.
What will the Cavaliers do this summer to finish building their team? That is still unknown. The path the Cavaliers are taking, however, is now confirmed.
If they can pull it off, they want to trade for Peyton Watson. The Maester said so.
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