The Denver Nuggets sent a message to Peyton Watson on social media following his trade to the Cleveland Cavaliers, which is now official.
On Thursday, the Nuggets made it official that Watson is being sign-and-traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers as part of a five-team trade that also involves the Los Angeles Clippers, Charlotte Hornets, and Washington Wizards.
In exchange for Watson, the Nuggets received a 2031 unprotected first-round draft pick and a 2032 second-round draft pick (via Sacramento) from Cleveland, and two-way forward Julian Reese from Washington, who is expected to be waived.
Nuggets Thank You Message to Peyton Watson
Now that Watson has officially been sent to the Cavaliers, the Nuggets sent a thank-you message to their former small forward, who won an NBA Championship with the Nuggets in 2023.
“Thank you for everything, P-Wat,” the Nuggets wrote on X.
While the Nuggets surely did not want to let Watson go, the reality of the NBA’s second apron is that they were not going to be able to keep him unless ownership was willing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in luxury tax penalties.
Watson is a very good player, but the Nuggets weren’t willing to give him the four-year, $88 million deal that Cleveland gave him, so they had to let him go. But on the flip side, they did pick up two draft picks, including an unprotected 2031 Cavaliers pick that could turn into valuable trade capital for Denver’s front office.
Still, a future pick isn’t going to help Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic win the NBA Championship next season, so it will be interesting to see what Denver’s front office does from here to help prop up the team’s roster now that Watson has been sent to Cleveland.
What Will Denver Do Next?
Now that Watson is officially gone to Cleveland, the Nuggets need to fill his scoring off the bench for this coming season.
The team has already been linked to signing free-agent veteran wing DeMar DeRozan, who is a professional scorer and someone who would likely fit in well on the Nuggets’ roster, especially if he is willing to take a minimum salary deal to come to Denver.
DeRozan is 37, though, compared to Watson, who is just 23, so you can see why some fans are frustrated that the team was willing to let go of a young, rising star in Watson and presumably will replace him with an aging vet like DeRozan or someone else of his stature.
But again, the reality of the second apron is that teams will have to make very difficult choices at times, and this is one of them.
Right now, the Nuggets are the only team projected to be in the second apron for this coming season, but the team could look to move off the bloated contract of backup big man Zeke Nnaji and try to get under the second apron by doing so, which would allow the team to make other moves to remain competitive in the crowded NBA Western Conference.
Nuggets Send Message to Peyton Watson Following Trade to Cavs