After months of deliberation, the Nuggets finally parted ways with Peyton Watson in a sign-and-trade sending him to the Cavaliers. Cleveland did pay a big price to acquire him, including both a future unprotected first-round pick and Max Strus, who played a pivotal role in helping the Cavs beat the Pistons in the playoffs. But Watson's addition should give the Cavaliers an even higher ceiling and potentially make them an even worse matchup for the Pistons.
Watson is another weapon in the Cavs' arsenal
In their recent playoff series, the Cavaliers eventually bested the Pistons in 7 games largely due to their superior offense. The outgoing Strus had a role in that, but his scoring numbers were pretty underwhelming. He averaged just under 10 points per game in that series while shooting 42% from the field and 36% from three - solid role player stats but nothing to write home about.
Watson is now slotted to fill the starting small forward spot in Cleveland and he's got more offensive juice than Strus. Last season, he increased his scoring average to nearly 15 points per game while hitting 49% of his shots and 41% of his threes. But Watson's real jump was clear in his performances after Nikola Jokic went down with injury.
In the 24 games that Watson played after Jokic's injury, he averaged 19.5 points per game while shooting 48% from the field and 43% from three. Because Jokic was out, many of those points were also self-created by Watson off the dribble. The Cavaliers may have taken a big risk by disrupting their team continuity to trade for Watson, but the upside of his scoring potential makes them an even bigger threat now.
The Cavaliers need Watson's defense too
At the same time, Cleveland needs Watson to be at his best defensively as well. He's been known for his work on that end so far in his young career, but he slipped a bit when he saw increased offensive responsibilities. However, the Cavaliers lack any other strong wing defenders so they will need Watson to shut down perimeter players next season.
Unlike the Pistons, who have multiple strong perimeter defenders, the Cavaliers will be almost totally reliant on Watson to get stops against guards and perimeter-oriented wings. Their best defenders prefer to roam the paint, while their backcourt of Donovan Mitchell and James Harden offer little resistance on the perimeter. Within the starting lineup, Watson will definitely take on the toughest perimeter matchups.
He's used to the role from his days in Denver making up for Jamal Murray and Jokic, but Watson will still have his work cut out for him on his new team. Still, if he can properly balance his two-way contributions, he will make the Cavaliers a bigger threat than the team that knocked off the Pistons last season.
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