The Cleveland Cavaliers acquired former Denver Nuggets forward Peyton Watson in a multi-team sign-and-trade including the LA Clippers.
The Cavaliers sent Max Strus to the Clippers and two picks (1 FRP, 1 SRP) to the Nuggets, ensuring Watson’s near two-month-long free agency saga finally comes to an end.
The Cavaliers have added the 24-year-old forward on a four-year, $88 million contract. That’s phenomenal long-term value for a cap-strapped Cavaliers team for their starting small forward through the end of the decade.
The Cavaliers only pivoted to acquiring Watson after their pursuit of LeBron James failed, but this might be a much better overall move for the Cavaliers than the short-term reunion with the 41-year-old legend.
Let’s analyze why the Cavaliers are better off with Watson on the squad than if LeBron returned this summer.
Cavaliers needed a role-playing forward instead of a star forward
Watson averaged 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks last season with a 20.5 usage rate, while LeBron averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists, and 6.1 rebounds with a 27.2 usage rate.
Even with James spending large chunks of the season as the third option, he was an integral offensive focus for the Lakers due to his playmaking and scoring ability.
Watson only had offensive outbursts when the Nuggets were wracked with injuries, and he proved in those games that he can produce at a 20-point level while maintaining elite efficiency. He’s already a known defensive specialist who can play multiple positions as well.
LeBron also brings positional versatility, but there’s no realistic way to expect him to match Watson’s defensive motor with the miles on his body. The Cavaliers already have their prime offensive options; now Watson can reinforce their perimeter defense and be a serviceable third option on offense.
James Harden will take the lead on playmaking while Mitchell will be their primary scorer, with James’ addition bolstering these requirements instead of filling the already-existing gaps on the roster like defense outside of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.
Also, Watson’s contract value has been greatly impacted due to the realities of the NBA’s second apron, so the Cavaliers have likely secured an undervalued player for the next four years instead of the short-term LeBron option.
Adjusting LeBron James into the Cavs’ current chemistry is a bigger challenge
The Cavaliers have built the franchise around Donovan Mitchell since acquiring him in the summer of 2022, recently handing the All-NBA guard a four-year, $272.8 million contract extension. This is firmly Mitchell’s franchise right now, and bringing LeBron back would invariably change that dynamic.
Even with Mitchell leading the franchise on the court, LeBron would receive most of the credit for making the franchise winners again with his return, instead of the bulk of the credit rightfully going to Mitchell for becoming the first non-LeBron superstar-level player to lead the franchise.
Not only would there be a slight issue with the LeBron-Mitchell dynamic, but it would also be far trickier to fit James Harden into this system. Harden’s late-career reinvention focuses on him being a pass-first guard and not a scorer like he was in his prime.
LeBron would likely take the lead as the Cavaliers’ playmaker, like he’s expected to do in Philadelphia, making Harden’s fit far clunkier.
Knowing how Harden won’t shy away from forcing his way out of a bad situation, the Cavaliers have likely avoided locker room headaches by acquiring the younger and more amenable Watson to follow Mitchell and Harden’s lead.
The Cavaliers’ contention window gets extended
The main reason this is the much better move is that the Cavaliers can feasibly be competitive for the rest of the decade with Watson.
Mitchell’s new contract is until 2031, Watson and Mobley are under contract until 2030, and Allen is under contract till 2029. Harden is currently a free agent but is expected to return to the Cavaliers on a likely two-to-three-year deal.
LeBron would have been with the franchise for two seasons at the max, only postponing the problem with the team’s ability to contend without LeBron. The Mitchell era has seen them reach every round of the Eastern Conference with four-straight Playoff appearances except the NBA Finals, but the window to make that Finals appearance a reality has been noticeably extended.
The Cavaliers have a high-level starting five set to play together for the foreseeable future, with interesting rotational players giving the Cavaliers flexibility to keep adjusting the core around them.
LeBron’s addition would mean reworking their entire roster to make it compatible with him for a short duration, but the Watson addition has allowed them to find a solution that’s compatible to what they have already carefully built over the last five years.
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