The Cleveland Cavaliers probably won't get Jonathan Kuminga and Peyton Watson.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are interested in unrestricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga and restricted free agent Peyton Watson.
Kuminga played for the Golden State Warriors and Atlanta Hawks last season, while Watson was with the Denver Nuggets.
The Cavaliers need a starting small forward after losing Dean Wade to the Philadelphia 76ers. Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com believes it's "highly unlikely" that the Wine and Gold get Kuminga and Watson.
"I think both of them is highly unlikely," Fedor said. "Again, on this podcast, we never say never and we try and deal in reality as much as we possibly can. Getting one of them is going to be hard enough given the salary cap situation that the Cavs are currently in, given the lack of perceived trade assets and given the salary cap situation of some of these other teams that we’re talking about here.
"So for example, you’ve got the Atlanta Hawks who have said to teams around the NBA look, we’re willing to help out Jonathan Kuminga in a potential sign-and-trade, but we need to be incentivized in order to do that. We’ve got to get something back in return that we actually like. And that’s part of the holdup, it feels like, between the Hawks and the Los Angeles Lakers because there are people around the NBA that are saying to themselves, what are the Lakers going to give the Hawks that the Hawks value enough or that the Hawks actually want? The Hawks already have 17 guys under contract, so they have some things that they have to do internally."
For the Warriors and Hawks last season, Kuminga averaged 12.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game while shooting 46.3% from the field, 33.3% from beyond the arc and 72.4% from the free-throw line. He played for Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson in Golden State.
Meanwhile, for the Nuggets last season, Watson averaged 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 49.1% from the field, 41.1% from beyond the arc and 73.0% from the free-throw line. He's one of the best two-way wings in the NBA.
The Cavaliers will re-sign James Harden once Kuminga and Watson are off the board. Without LeBron James, who signed with the 76ers instead of coming home this summer, Cleveland's core remains the same: Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.
The New York Knicks swept the Cavaliers in the 2026 Eastern Conference Finals. The biggest move the Cavaliers made this summer was signing Mitchell to a massive extension. Mitchell agreed to a four-year, $273 million maximum contract extension with Cleveland.
