Kawhi Leonard Investigation May Have Put Clippers' Peyton Watson Pursuit On Hold

The Los Angeles Clippers are not done trying to add to their roster. They are reportedly pursuing upgrades, with Peyton Watson, Bennedict Mathurin, and Bradley Beal all serious options to be Clippers.

The problem is that the Clippers are also awaiting resolution on the Kawhi Leonard situation. Even though the Raptors and the Clippers have agreed on a trade to send Leonard back to Toronto, the sides are waiting for the league's investigation into cap circumvention allegations to conclude. The hope is that it will conclude before the start of the season and the sides can finalize the deal.

How Is the Kawhi Saga Impacting the Clippers' Peyton Watson Chase?

This hold-up has a big impact on the rest of Toronto's and LA's offseason. It is directly affecting the Clippers' pursuit of restricted free agent Peyton Watson. In his latest livestream for Bleacher Report, NBA insider Jake Fischer said that the Leonard situation may be a reason why there hasn't been much of a movement in the Watson front.

According to Fischer, the Clippers may want to expand the Leonard trade to include Watson. This could potentially allow more optionality in the sign-and-trade negotiations between the Nuggets and the Clippers. By expanding the trade, the cash-strapped Nuggets could send Watson to the Clippers without taking back any salary.

For this to happen, however, the Clippers have to receive word from the league office about potential penalties. Once they can move forward with trading Kawhi, they can try to fold the Watson element into the same deal.

The mechanics of including Watson in that deal will be somewhat complicated. A big part of this will be Watson's new contract. Depending on how much Watson will be making on his deal, the Clippers may have to include more salary or reroute Gradey Dick to another team. Since the Nuggets don't want to take back salary, one more team may have to get involved in the trade.

Alternatively, the Clippers can just take Watson into their $17 million trade exception from the John Collins deal. Whether $17 million for next season would be enough to convince Watson to sign with LA over other options is unclear, but it would allow the Clippers to acquire him without matching salaries. They would presumably have to include a first-round pick to make it worth Denver's while.

Another option would be to send the Nuggets a player who makes less than Watson but who could still help them. Derrick Jones Jr. and Kris Dunn come to mind as potential options.

The Clippers have options. They have the assets, resources, and flexibility to be able to acquire Watson without being a luxury tax team. But first, they need a resolution on Kawhi Leonard.

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