The Peyton Watson saga has reached its conclusion.
The Denver Nuggets are trading the 23-year-old wing to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a multi-team deal that sends Max Strus to the Los Angeles Clippers, and a 2031 Cleveland first-round pick and 2032 Kings second-rounder back to Denver, two people with direct knowledge of the transaction confirmed to USA TODAY Sports.
The people spoke under the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss terms of the deal.
Watson, a restricted free agent, will sign a four-year, $88 million contract with the Cavs.
The Clippers are also sending a 2027 second-round pick to Cleveland, acquiring Strus via a trade exception. The Cavaliers are then flipping that second rounder and Tre Mann, who they acquired via trade last week for Dennis Schröder, to the Washington Wizards for Cam Whitmore while Julian Reese heads to the Nuggets.
Watson is coming off a breakout season in 2024-25 in which he started 40 games in the prolonged absences of Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon. Already known for his defense, the Long Beach Poly High School alum emerged as a versatile, athletic wing on the offensive end of the floor as he averaged 14.6 points, shooting 49.1% from the floor and 41.1% from long range, 4.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 0.9 steals − all career-highs − and 1.1 blocks per game.
The trade puts an end to months of speculation regarding Watson's future with the Nuggets as he was heavily linked to teams with cap space in need of length and athleticism, such as the Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks and Portland Trail Blazers, among others.
Contributing: Lorenzo Reyes
Peyton Watson trade details- Cavaliers get: Peyton Watson, Cam Whitmore
- Clippers get: Max Strus
- Nuggets get: 2031 first-rounder, 2032 second-rounder, Julian Reese
- Wizards get: Tre Mann, 2027 second-rounder
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Peyton Watson traded to Cavaliers in 4-team deal that includes Nuggets, Clippers, Wizards
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