Why Knicks Shouldn't Be Worried About Cavs' Peyton Watson Trade

Despite landing Peyton Watson last week, the Cavaliers have become somewhat of an afterthought when weighing the Knicks' threats for 2026-27. That's not to say that Cleveland has zero believers, but after a chaotic offseason that saw multiple Eastern Conference teams make major moves, the Cavs appear to have taken a backseat from a New York frame of thinking.

And that's honestly for good reason, even post-Watson addition.

Cavs' Peyton Watson trade doesn't change the advantages Knicks have over them

The defending champions don't need to truly worry about anyone this soon. They're coming off of one of the most dominant postseason runs in NBA history. And they'll be bringing back all but one member of their core rotation.

If the Knicks stay healthy, and play the way they are capable of playing, they have as good of a shot at winning it again in 2027 as anybody else in the league. But even were that not the case, the Cavaliers, specifically, should not put any kind of fear into New York's hearts.

Watson is a good player. The Cavaliers did well to acquire the 23 year-old coming off of a career-year in which he averaged 14.6 pgg and 4.9 rpg. He's a solid shooter and scorer who provides them with some much needed athleticism, and another defender. But will it be enough?

The consensus answer, especially outside of Cleveland, currently is no. Because however good Watson is, he just doesn't move the needle enough, especially in departments in which they actually need to improve in.

Watson's a good defender, but he is not at the All-NBA level that OG Anunoby or playoff Mikal Bridges is. He also isn't a better defender than the best ones on the Spurs team that Jalen Brunson and the Knicks defeated in The Finals.

Watson, as solid as he may be defensively, isn't good enough to make up for the negative defenders Donovan Mitchell and James Harden are. And that's before considering the fact that the Cavaliers lost Dean Wade and Max Strus, two of their better defenders not named Jarrett Allen or Evan Mobley.

Also, while the former Nugget is coming off of an impressive season in which he shot 41.1% from three, he isn't a volume shooter (3.6 3PA/G), which Strus certainly was (6.8 3PA/G). Fans may argue that he just needs to shoot more. But that's not how it works in the NBA. One does not simply just get up more three-point attempts.

Knicks fans know this very well after spending years begging Josh Hart to shoot more willingly. And we've seen throughout history that even were a player to become a more willing three-point shooter, the efficiency doesn't always follow. Players maintaining efficiency while increasing volume is often assumed when upscaling minutes or responsibility. But it rarely works out that way.

Additionally, it's not like Watson has a long track record of being a great shooter. As mentioned earlier, he shot over 40% last season, and did so in his rookie season as well. But that was when he played in just 23 games and took 14 threes in total. On his career, he's only a 36.1% three-point shooter and has been an above average shooter in just one of his three seasons with significant playing time.

In fact, he really only produced at the consistently high level that Cavaliers fans are expecting for about a month and a half. He began the season not starting and sluggish, averaging just 8.3 pgg and 4.6 rpg in 23.5 mpg through the first 15 games of the season.

He did eventually take a significant leap and averaged 20.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.4 bpg, and 1.1 speg over a 21-game stretch between late December and early February before getting hurt. That's quite an impressive display, but it's also a relatively small sample size.

Cavs still have flaws the Knicks can (and will) exploit

Watson also isn't a great playmaker, which is one of the things the Cavaliers lack badly. Despite Harden having some very ugly defensive moments in the postseason, the Cavaliers were actually much better with Harden on the court.

As evident in the graphic below, the Cavaliers were a +4.3 and had a solid offensive rating of 116.9 in the Harden minutes during the postseason. With him off the court, they not only got worse defensively, but saw a massive drop off offensively. That was largely due to the lack of playmaking outside of Harden.

James Harden's on/off numbers during the postseason — databallr.com

Mitchell, as talented as he is, isn't a good playmaker. While he puts up aesthetically pleasing stats during the regular season, his inability to consistently get teammates good looks has always cost him during the postseason. That often results in tough contested looks for himself or his teammates against set defenses.

Strus helped a bit with that as a solid secondary playmaker and is now gone. Unless Mitchell and/or Mobley take a significant leap in that department, the Cavaliers' offense will continue to struggle when it matters most.

Watson's addition makes the starting lineup look stronger on paper. He's a young and athletic wing who should be a fun watch, especially during the regular season. The forward is a solid shooter, who can cut, and finish around the rim, and is a plus defender.

But the Cavaliers struggled with perimeter defense, playmaking, volume and movement shooting—all things the Knicks were able to take advantage of. And Watson doesn't really do much to help them significantly in any of those areas. The Knicks beat the Cavaliers pretty easily in a convincing sweep. Does Watson ultimately change the outcome of that series by more than a game or two at the most? Unlikely.

Additionally, Watson doesn't change the approach of a Cavaliers team that gave up a wide-open layup to Brunson at the end of Game 3 and then proceeded to lose Game 4 on their home court by 37. He doesn't change the fact that they still don't have anybody to stop Brunson in a seven-game series or prevent him from being the clear best player in the series once again. He doesn't change Harden's history of coming up short in the postseason.

Until Mitchell revitalizes his playstyle and Mobley takes a significant leap in both three-point volume and playmaking, the Cavaliers will and should remain an afterthought for the Knicks. And that rings even more true during the postseason, where the Knicks have dismantled the Cavaliers and ended their season multiple times in recent history.

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