Peyton Watson Could Give the Cavaliers Something They’ve Been Missing for Years

The newest Cavalier, Peyton Watson has arrived.

Mar 22, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Peyton Watson (8) smiles before the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Cavaliers addition of Peyton Watson made waves across the NBA world late last month. And since the news was announced, the team’s expectations grew just a bit. Having a forward with that type of size in a frontcourt that already features a pair of seven-footers? Endless possibilities.

Of course, this was also the case for Cleveland when they had Lauri Markkanen in 2021-22. Anyway, this Watson edition is major. There are multiple skillsets that he possesses that haven’t been seen in Cleveland in a long time. Let’s discuss what those are.

Rim Protection From SF Spot?

Peyton Watson has proven to be an incredible shot-blocker during his time with the Denver Nuggets. Joining the team as a defensive specialist out of UCLA, he immediately showed the type of impact he could have while splitting his time between the forward positions.

By the end of his second campaign, he was a fixture in the rotation and wreaked absolute havoc on the defensive end. In each of the past three seasons, Watson has averaged better than a block per game and affected the game in so many other areas. This is something we saw LeBron James doing in Cleveland for a long time. With his signature chasedowns, anything could happen on that end.

In the days of yore, Larry Nance was averaging 2+ blocks a night and was one of the most ferocious defenders in the league. He peaked at three blocks per game in the 1991-92 campaign and was feared league-wide. They don’t have % of mins played by position for players from that era, but splitting time at SF and PF, he defied a lot of norms.

Watson is providing the level of ability that only those two have had in Cleveland from the position he’ll be playing.

A Swiss Army Knife

Not only does Peyton Watson bring everything he does defensively, but he also knocks down threes at an effective clip. A player who entered the league after averaging three points per game in college, he hit 40% of his triples in Denver last season.

Peyton Watson AGAIN for the triple 🎯

He has 27 points and 5-of-6 from three.pic.twitter.com/wAKQWsFp00

— Nuggets Nation (@NuggetsNationCP) January 23, 2026

The importance is not just the percentage, but how he got there. 3.6 attempts per night was nearly double the previous career-high in attempts from Watson prior to last season. In all, he hit 49% of his shots, and his free-throw percentage, at 73%, was also a new career-high.

The team is buying high on a player that does it all. Max Strus, in his first two years, was a fantastic offensive player for Cleveland. Timely threes, excellent ball-mover, and an underrated rebounder. Heck, his hustle alone won them some clutch playoff games just last year.

But Strus isn’t 6’8 with a long wingspan. The team only had so many minutes where they could have a 6’4 or 6’5 SF out there against much bigger groups. They had to sacrifice his services to be able to land a player like Watson who is more ideal for what they hope to be.

Watson is probably the most versatile offensive SF here since Lauri Markkanen, and as mentioned, the biggest game-changer since LeBron James.