Clippers' Peyton Watson Approach in Free Agency Has Been a Mistake

The Los Angeles Clippers are in the midst of a chaotic offseason. Just when they thought that they had finally put an end to the Kawhi Leonard era, the trade with the Raptors has been put on hold. Now, both sides have to wait until the resolution of the investigation to finalize the trade.

At the same time, the Clippers are still trying to build out their roster for next season. One of their top remaining targets is restricted free agent Peyton Watson.

As a target, Watson makes a ton of sense for the Clippers. He is only 24 years old, took a big step forward last season, and has elite two-way upside. Especially when Leonard is leaving LA, Watson would be a fascinating replacement and fit perfectly next to the Darius Garland, Keaton Wagler, and Brandon Ingram trio as an athletic, versatile wing.

Clippers May Have Fumbled Their Peyton Watson Pursuit

The problem is, the Clippers have not been smart in their pursuit of Watson. LA had some cap space and flexibility to sign Watson to an offer sheet early in the offseason. However, instead of doing so and forcing Denver's hand, the Clippers signed Rui Hachimura to a two-year, $28 million deal and picked up Brook Lopez's $9.1 million team option.

This ate up the cap space the Clippers could have used to sign Watson. Now, LA is reportedly looking for a sign-and-trade opportunity to bring Watson in.

The Nuggets have to cooperate in this sign-and-trade. They are reportedly looking for a Walker Kessler-type package to consider trading Watson. The Lakers had traded two first-round picks and two pick swaps in the sign-and-trade to acquire Kessler from the Utah Jazz. The Clippers should obviously not be willing to give up that much for Watson, given where they are as a franchise.

The reports suggest that Watson would require around $25 million per year in his next contract. Giving up a package of Derrick Jones Jr., Brook Lopez, and draft capital could get that deal done, but Denver is still seemingly interested in re-signing Watson.

The Nuggets are facing a huge financial cliff. As things stand now, they are deep into the second apron. Famously unwilling to pay much luxury tax, the Nuggets will certainly have to shed significant salary. They are presumably trying to trade Cam Johnson and/or Christian Braun to be able to sign Peyton Watson under the second apron.

That is why, if the Clippers had signed Watson to an offer sheet, the Nuggets would have found it very difficult to match it. LA could have still made roster moves and cleared cap space afterwards to sign Hachimura. Now, they either have to give up assets in a sign-and-trade or let go of their Peyton Watson dream.

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