The Cleveland Cavaliers pulled off a three-team trade to land Peyton Watson on Wednesday night that should provide more balance and strengthen their squad for the 2026-27 campaign
With the 2026 Playoffs wrapping up just about two months ago, most NBA teams have had an opportunity to do most of their offseason business already. The NBA Draft arrived on June 23, a few days after the finals and free agency opened up across the league after that.
In a perfect world, the Detroit Pistons would be one of the lucky teams who completed the majority of their summer tasks in that first one to two week period, but that simply has not been the case. In order to make necessary changes and progress the team forward, the Pistons have prioritized a younger roster that’s more perimeter-oriented from an offensive standpoint, so re-tooling after a second round exit has been important for Pistons President of Basketball Operations Trajan Langdon.
But outside of that big picture task, the Pistons have worked at length to get a deal done with restricted free agent Jalen Duren, but there has yet to be an agreement on a long-term deal, which should be considered a yellow flag by the Motown franchise. Still, the Pistons had some good company in that respect considering the Denver Nuggets were waiting out a contract discussion with restricted free agent Peyton Watson at the same time, but the Western Conference squad finally found a resolution for that situation earlier tonight.
Much like Duren, Watson was reaching the point where it was time to get paid as a 23-year old with quality length after a promising 3-and-D season with a 40% mark from three-point range, but the Nuggets already have substantial deals earmarked for Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon and co. So, Denver opted to trade Watson to the Cleveland Cavaliers as part of a three-team deal with the Los Angeles Clippers in order to recoup a bit of value for the rising star.
In total, Watson is heading to the Cavs with Max Strus being sent to the Clippers on the other side of the deal. The Nuggets are slated to receive an unprotected Cleveland first-round draft pick in 2031 and a second-rounder from the Sacramento Kings in 2032 to officially round out the three-team trade.
In order to make the deal work, Watson is expected to sign a four-year extension as part of the trade, which is what allows Denver to make the deal work. The Pistons, however, are not willing to engage in those types of discussions and seem determined to sort out the situation with Duren on the negotiation table, but this three-team trade does have a trickle-down impact on Detroit as well.
Considering the Cavs took down the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Semifinals last year, Cleveland is obviously one of the stronger teams in the conference and certainly stood as Detroit’s top competition for the Central Division even before this deal. There is an expectation that Harden is going to return to the Cavs, and Watson’s addition would help round out that starting five and provide balance with his perimeter shooting and above average defense. Harden and Donovan Mitchell are expected to start in the backcourt with Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley at the four and the five, so Watson could feasibly be the Cavs’ missing link in their starting unit and could make Cleveland a stronger group overall.
