Peyton Watson to the Clippers Just Got More Real

The Los Angeles Clippers’ pursuit of Denver Nuggets’ restricted free agent Peyton Watson is picking up. The Clippers have been operating as a suitor by maintaining their cap by delaying the signing of their very own restricted free agent Bennedict Mathurin. The Nuggets, however, have been operating as if they are ready to lose the California native by signing Lonnie Walker. Despite his deal being a minimum contract, this move increases the Denver Nuggets’ projected luxury tax bill from $68.6 million to $85.1 million, according to X user APHoops.

Shams Charania has reported that the three teams in play for Peyton Watson are the Los Angeles Clippers, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Milwaukee Bucks. Not only that, but the Nuggets are actively in trade talks with the three teams for sign-and-trade deals. I personally believe the Cavs have the smallest chance of the three to obtain Watson due to the complications of their current salaries as well as their ongoing interest in a cheaper free agent option, Jonathan Kuminga.

The Bucks have a good chance to obtain Watson. However, considering Watson is a Rich Paul client under Klutch Sports Group, I see him likely heading to LA. Klutch has a good track record of putting players in positions they would want to be in. If Watson is able to choose where he wants to go, I see his path aligning more with this vision of the Clippers as opposed to the Bucks who are going for a hard rebuild compared to the Clippers’ direction of a soft rebuild. Due to the Bucks being in a hard rebuild, they value draft picks over win-now players as tanking is the way to go for such a rebuild. The Clippers’ path of retooling, however, allows them to part ways with any draft picks more comfortably with their timeline. Considering the Nuggets would want in return what is best for their own franchise, a first round pick is likely more obtainable through the Clippers than the Bucks. There is also the desire of living back home in Southern California as opposed to Wisconsin.

As I mentioned earlier, despite having interest in retaining Bennedict Mathurin, the Clippers have not yet done so. There is no reason other than their interest in Watson that the Clippers have not yet signed Mathurin as there are no reported free agents the team has interest in. The Clippers are likely anticipating a conclusion to the Kawhi Leonard investigation so that once that trade becomes official, any draft compensation and salary cap of the team is more transparent. There is also the question of how much to offer Watson compared to what the Bucks may offer, and considering the team may be higher on him than Mathurin, it could result in waiting it out to outbid the Bucks, prioritizing his pursuit over Mathurin.

The Nuggets are also looking to move off the contract of soon-to-be seventh-year power forward Zeke Nnaji. Nnaji is set to make $7.5 million next season with a player option of $7.5 million the season after. Getting him off the books without retaining any salaries will help the Nuggets big time in their quest to relieve the tax. Combining this with the likeliness of receiving first-round draft capital from the Clippers as opposed to the Bucks may be enticing enough for the Nuggets to send Watson to LA. The Clippers will be able to acquire Nnaji by moving a salary to a third team. Isaiah Jackson is making $7 million and moving him to a team like the Utah Jazz could be a real possibility. The Jazz are on the hunt for a center as they just lost Walker Kessler and brought in Mo Bamba in their search for center depth. Obtaining Jackson can be more beneficial to them than just getting Bamba as they now need options at the center position to see who can be a true rotational fit for their team going forward.

The race for Peyton Watson is shaping up around the league at a steady rate and the direction of each team is becoming transparent. The Nuggets are digging themselves deep into the salary cap and will need to move off of him without retaining any salary. The Cavs will need to primarily find trade suitors for the likes of Dennis Schroeder or maybe even Jarrett Allen for the signing of Peyton Watson to financially make sense. The Bucks will need to convince Watson why taking on a hard rebuild away from his home city is the more convincing option while having less to offer the Nuggets. Despite major moves pending for the Clippers this offseason, the path to bringing Peyton Watson home is now taking shape.