Peyton Watson is officially a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, with the Denver Nuggets trading the restricted free agent after failing to work out a new contract.

Watson and his camp, Klutch Sports, were reportedly looking for a deal that would pay him between $25 and $30 million per season. The Nuggets reportedly offered him a deal in the $16 to $18 million range annually.

Upon being traded to the Cavaliers, Watson signed a four-year, $88 million deal, which works out to $22 million annually.

Watson is coming off a breakout season where he averaged 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.1 assists while shooting 49% from the field and 41% from three in 54 games.

Unfortunately, he missed the end of the regular season and Denver’s first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves due to a hamstring injury. Denver lost in six games.

On the Game Over podcast, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports noted Watson’s injury, saying that with soft tissue injuries like the hamstring, “you have to be careful in your return. Guys want to play. You have to protect them from themselves. You’re up for a contract, it’s the playoffs, and you’ve had a good year, so I need to play. It’s important to protect that.”

While Paul didn’t say outright that Watson was healthy enough to play but was held out because of his impending contract situation, he strongly hinted that might be the case.

Hamstring injuries are tricky, and coming back too early can lead to bigger issues and more long-term damage. The question becomes: if Watson didn’t have a looming contract negotiation coming off his rookie deal after the season he had, would he have suited up for the Nuggets?

There’s a chance Watson could have earned himself more money had he played through the injury and still been effective. If Denver wins the series, Watson looks like a hero. Even if Denver loses and Watson underperforms, the injury should not have been held against him.

The biggest risk was making things worse. If Watson had suffered a long-term injury, his offseason value would have significantly dropped. That was likely the fear for Watson and his camp.

By not playing, Denver may have felt slighted, believing Watson put himself before the team, which could explain why their offer was lower than he wanted. Denver should’ve held more leverage given Watson was a restricted free agent, but operating in the second apron hurt what they could do.

Though Denver likely would’ve liked to have gotten more in the deal for Watson, they were hamstrung by their cap situation.