Cavaliers' Peyton Watson Among Top-99 Players in NBA Entering 2026-27

The Cleveland Cavaliers are entering into the new 2026-27 NBA season ready to prove themselves to the rest of the league.

After making the Eastern Conference Finals a year ago, Cleveland is now ready to push forward even more to reach the NBA Finals. This Cavaliers team only has one goal on its mind, which is to win a title this season.

Cleveland added more pieces to the puzzle this past offseason, adding more depth around the edges of the roster. Surrounding stars Donovan Mitchell and James Harden with more help should give the Cavaliers more of a chance to win this season.

The big acquisition for the Cavaliers was forward Peyton Watson, who signed a massive four-year, $88 million deal with the team. Watson now gives the Cavaliers a legitimate wing defender, who the organization can throw at opposing teams best players.

But with the new contract that Watson has signed, there will be a ton of pressure on him to succeed. Cleveland will be counting on Watson heavily this year, with multiple players talking about what he brings to the team.

Coming into the new season, Watson was ranked in the top 99 of players in the NBA by Bleacher Report's staff. The new Cavaliers forward came in at No. 91, showing that there is still room for him to keep improving.

With the Denver Nuggets, Watson showed improvement each season, but now there is an expectation for him to take things even further. For the Cavaliers to reach the goals that they have, Watson is going to need to get to the next level in terms of his overall game.

Watson is a prototypical three-and-D wing in the league, which every team covets in this current era. The defensive forward shot 41.1 percent from beyond the three-point line last season in Denver, and if he can stay around that number, Cleveland will have gotten a steal.

Playing alongside Harden and Mitchell, Watson will be getting a ton of strong shot attempts this season. And it will be up to him to knock down the shots when called upon.

Cleveland believes that Watson can be the missing piece for the upcoming season, and there will be all sorts of eyes on him to fit into the mold of the team. If Watson can succeed this season, the sky could be the limit for this Cavaliers team this year.