Unable to sign rising star Peyton Watson to a new contract, the Denver Nuggets have traded him to the Cleveland Cavaliers, while Cleveland sends guard Max Strus to the Los Angeles Clippers, according to multiple reports on Wednesday evening.
Denver will receive an unprotected 2031 first-round pick from the Cavaliers and a 2032 second-round pick from the Sacramento Kings.
Watson, who averaged a career-high 14.6 points per game in 2025-26, will sign a four-year, $88 million contract as part of the sign-and-trade transaction, his agent told ESPN.
The Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Portland Trail Blazers also expressed interest in Watson, but Denver and Cleveland finalized the deal with Watson’s agents on Wednesday. The deal includes a player option and a trade kicker.
Los Angeles will send Cleveland a 2027 second-round pick, which it acquired from the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Johni Broome, thereby allowing the Clippers to pick up Strus via a trade exception.
The Cavs will also send Tre Mann, who they just acquired from the Charlotte Hornets for Dennis Schroder, along with the 2027 second-rounder from Los Angeles to the Washington Wizards, reports indicated.
Watson, an outstanding two-way player, also averaged career highs in rebounds, assists, and steals in 2025-26 and increased his 3-point field goals made from 48 in 2024-25 to 81 last season. He scored 30 or more points four times during the season, including three in January, when Nikola Jokic was out of the lineup.
Watson started 40 of 54 games last season and has 64 career starts in 225 games. He boosted his career scoring average to 8.7 points per game.
Strus, 30, played the last three seasons in Cleveland, after spending three in Miami and one in Chicago. He played in a dozen games after returning from injury in 2025-26, averaging 11.2 points per game. Strus converted 33 of 82 (40.2%) from behind the arc and has made 742 treys in his last six seasons.
Strus has played in 321 games (161 starts) and averaged 10.4 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.
