10 hours ago
Grade for Cavaliers: B
Look at just about any statistic and chances are that Watson posted a career-best mark last season. It wasn't just that the 23-year-old forward averaged career highs in points, rebounds and assists; he also made 41% of his 3-pointers on a career-high volume and pulled off the rare feat of increasing his usage rate and true shooting percentage by large margins simultaneously.
In other words, Watson got many more opportunities last season, and he made the most of them.
The former No. 30 pick has always had potential, particularly on the defensive end, but he wasn't consistent or productive enough on offense to earn more playing time. In his playoff career, Watson has averaged only 10.4 minutes per game while receiving numerous DNPs.
That all changed last season. And although Watson didn't get the added opportunity to prove himself on the playoff stage because of a hamstring strain late in the year, he showed enough development in his breakout regular season -- as well as the potential for even more growth in the future -- to warrant a big raise in restricted free agency.
By itself, this is a perfectly reasonable new contract for a player with his youth and skill set. Before the offseason began, ESPN's Bobby Marks wrote that he'd offer Watson a four-year, $90 million deal, which is almost exactly what Cleveland ended up giving him.
Because Watson was a restricted free agent and Cleveland faced a financial strain, however, the Cavaliers couldn't sign Watson outright; instead, they needed to sacrifice Strus and a future unprotected first-round pick in the process.
On one hand, that cost is much more palatable than, say, what the Lakers paid in a similar trade for restricted free agent Walker Kessler earlier this summer.
But Strus was a valuable player for Cleveland, as both a proven 3-point shooter (37% in his career and with the Cavaliers) and solid defender. And that far-off future first-round pick could be valuable down the line, as well as hamper the Cavaliers' ability to make other trades in the years to come. (The Jazz already control their 2027, 2028 and 2029 firsts from the Donovan Mitchell blockbuster.)
Because of those extra considerations, this isn't a slam dunk A-plus deal for Cleveland; in a vacuum, Strus might even be a more valuable player than Watson right now. But it's easy to see -- and believe in -- the bet that the Cavaliers are making with this trade: that Watson provides much more upside than Strus, and that he's the wing who can finally bridge the positional gap between the Cavaliers' two All-Star guards and their two All-Star bigs.
In recent seasons, Cleveland has invested in and cycled through Strus, De'Andre Hunter, Caris LeVert, Dean Wade and Isaac Okoro, among others, in an effort to fill that void. None of those options truly succeeded. Now it's Watson's turn to try.
Grade for Nuggets: D
Given the extreme cost of the Nuggets roster that's already in place -- they're currently the only team in the second apron -- it's understandable why they didn't feel comfortable retaining Watson at such a price.
But letting him walk is a bitter pill to swallow for a Denver team that needed his youth and upside. The Nuggets just lost a key player, but they're a win-now team, with their top four players all entering their late primes: Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon will be 31 years old next season, Cameron Johnson will be 30 and Jamal Murray will be 29.
Moreover, the Nuggets have always been a thin team in the Jokic era, and they look even thinner following a quiet offseason. Of their top eight scorers last year, three have left the team this summer: Watson, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jonas Valanciunas. And the only players they've brought in as replacements are Marvin Bagley III -- a questionable fit to follow Valanciunas as Jokic's backup -- and EuroLeague wing Alpha Diallo.
In the bigger picture, losing Watson means the Nuggets don't get to reap the long-term rewards of developing him from a raw reserve into a bona fide contributor. Amid a host of failed draft picks in the 25-40 range over the last half-decade -- Jalen Pickett, Julian Strawther, Hunter Tyson, Bones Hyland -- Watson was the one standout, and Denver clearly missed his two-way ability in its shocking playoff loss to the injury-ravaged Minnesota Timberwolves last spring.
But now the Cavaliers will benefit, because they were able to create enough financial wiggle room to dip below the second apron and add Watson, while the Nuggets were not.
The Nuggets' draft pick compensation is sufficiently enticing that this deal isn't an unmitigated disaster. Now the Nuggets, who didn't have any tradeable firsts before Wednesday, can theoretically use this unprotected Cavaliers pick to trade for a different player.
But will that player be better than Watson, who provided perimeter defense and athleticism otherwise lacking on the Nuggets' roster? And will that player fit any better into Denver's financial picture?
Depending on what they do with this pick, the Nuggets' front office could make this grade look silly in the coming months. But for now, it seems like they would have just been better off re-signing Watson.
Grade for Clippers: A-
Strus is signed for $16.6 million in 2026-27 before becoming a free agent next summer. That amount fits neatly onto the Clippers' books while keeping them below the tax line.
The Clippers are acquiring Strus on a short-term commitment, almost for free. Their only cost to add a proven 3-and-D veteran with ample playoff experience is a second-round pick they acquired from Philadelphia last month, in order to take on Johni Broome's salary.
That's a nice bit of business for the Clippers, even if it's still unclear where they fit into the Western Conference pecking order, or if they have any real ambitions for the 2026-27 season if the Kawhi Leonard trade goes through. If so, the Clippers' best course of action could be hoping they're able to re-trade Strus at the deadline for more draft compensation than the mere second-round pick with which they're parting in this deal.
Grade for Wizards: C+
The Wizards' angle in this deal is the least compelling, as they're getting a second-round pick and a minor upgrade at the guard position via Mann, who first joined the Cavaliers last week in a trade for Dennis Schroder.
Look at just about any statistic and chances are that Watson posted a career-best mark last season. It wasn't just that the 23-year-old forward averaged career highs in points, rebounds and assists; he also made 41% of his 3-pointers on a career-high volume and pulled off the rare feat of increasing his usage rate and true shooting percentage by large margins simultaneously.
In other words, Watson got many more opportunities last season, and he made the most of them.
The former No. 30 pick has always had potential, particularly on the defensive end, but he wasn't consistent or productive enough on offense to earn more playing time. In his playoff career, Watson has averaged only 10.4 minutes per game while receiving numerous DNPs.
That all changed last season. And although Watson didn't get the added opportunity to prove himself on the playoff stage because of a hamstring strain late in the year, he showed enough development in his breakout regular season -- as well as the potential for even more growth in the future -- to warrant a big raise in restricted free agency.
By itself, this is a perfectly reasonable new contract for a player with his youth and skill set. Before the offseason began, ESPN's Bobby Marks wrote that he'd offer Watson a four-year, $90 million deal, which is almost exactly what Cleveland ended up giving him.
Because Watson was a restricted free agent and Cleveland faced a financial strain, however, the Cavaliers couldn't sign Watson outright; instead, they needed to sacrifice Strus and a future unprotected first-round pick in the process.
On one hand, that cost is much more palatable than, say, what the Lakers paid in a similar trade for restricted free agent Walker Kessler earlier this summer.
But Strus was a valuable player for Cleveland, as both a proven 3-point shooter (37% in his career and with the Cavaliers) and solid defender. And that far-off future first-round pick could be valuable down the line, as well as hamper the Cavaliers' ability to make other trades in the years to come. (The Jazz already control their 2027, 2028 and 2029 firsts from the Donovan Mitchell blockbuster.)
Because of those extra considerations, this isn't a slam dunk A-plus deal for Cleveland; in a vacuum, Strus might even be a more valuable player than Watson right now. But it's easy to see -- and believe in -- the bet that the Cavaliers are making with this trade: that Watson provides much more upside than Strus, and that he's the wing who can finally bridge the positional gap between the Cavaliers' two All-Star guards and their two All-Star bigs.
In recent seasons, Cleveland has invested in and cycled through Strus, De'Andre Hunter, Caris LeVert, Dean Wade and Isaac Okoro, among others, in an effort to fill that void. None of those options truly succeeded. Now it's Watson's turn to try.
Grade for Nuggets: D
Given the extreme cost of the Nuggets roster that's already in place -- they're currently the only team in the second apron -- it's understandable why they didn't feel comfortable retaining Watson at such a price.
But letting him walk is a bitter pill to swallow for a Denver team that needed his youth and upside. The Nuggets just lost a key player, but they're a win-now team, with their top four players all entering their late primes: Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon will be 31 years old next season, Cameron Johnson will be 30 and Jamal Murray will be 29.
Moreover, the Nuggets have always been a thin team in the Jokic era, and they look even thinner following a quiet offseason. Of their top eight scorers last year, three have left the team this summer: Watson, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jonas Valanciunas. And the only players they've brought in as replacements are Marvin Bagley III -- a questionable fit to follow Valanciunas as Jokic's backup -- and EuroLeague wing Alpha Diallo.
In the bigger picture, losing Watson means the Nuggets don't get to reap the long-term rewards of developing him from a raw reserve into a bona fide contributor. Amid a host of failed draft picks in the 25-40 range over the last half-decade -- Jalen Pickett, Julian Strawther, Hunter Tyson, Bones Hyland -- Watson was the one standout, and Denver clearly missed his two-way ability in its shocking playoff loss to the injury-ravaged Minnesota Timberwolves last spring.
But now the Cavaliers will benefit, because they were able to create enough financial wiggle room to dip below the second apron and add Watson, while the Nuggets were not.
The Nuggets' draft pick compensation is sufficiently enticing that this deal isn't an unmitigated disaster. Now the Nuggets, who didn't have any tradeable firsts before Wednesday, can theoretically use this unprotected Cavaliers pick to trade for a different player.
But will that player be better than Watson, who provided perimeter defense and athleticism otherwise lacking on the Nuggets' roster? And will that player fit any better into Denver's financial picture?
Depending on what they do with this pick, the Nuggets' front office could make this grade look silly in the coming months. But for now, it seems like they would have just been better off re-signing Watson.
Grade for Clippers: A-
Strus is signed for $16.6 million in 2026-27 before becoming a free agent next summer. That amount fits neatly onto the Clippers' books while keeping them below the tax line.
The Clippers are acquiring Strus on a short-term commitment, almost for free. Their only cost to add a proven 3-and-D veteran with ample playoff experience is a second-round pick they acquired from Philadelphia last month, in order to take on Johni Broome's salary.
That's a nice bit of business for the Clippers, even if it's still unclear where they fit into the Western Conference pecking order, or if they have any real ambitions for the 2026-27 season if the Kawhi Leonard trade goes through. If so, the Clippers' best course of action could be hoping they're able to re-trade Strus at the deadline for more draft compensation than the mere second-round pick with which they're parting in this deal.
Grade for Wizards: C+
The Wizards' angle in this deal is the least compelling, as they're getting a second-round pick and a minor upgrade at the guard position via Mann, who first joined the Cavaliers last week in a trade for Dennis Schroder.
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