Draymond Green Defends the Nuggets' Decision to Trade Peyton Watson

Last week, the Denver Nuggets officially ended their Peyton Watson saga by shipping him to the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he signed a new four-year, $88 million contract. In exchange, the Nuggets received an unprotected 2031 first-round pick from Cleveland and a 2032 second-round pick, giving them some much-needed draft capital.

Still, though, many fans do not feel this trade was worth it. Giving up their 23-year-old breakout for a future pick is disappointing, especially when they should be doing all they can to build a title contender around three-time MVP Nikola Jokic while he is still in his prime. However, that is the reality of the second apron and luxury tax.

BREAKING: Cleveland, Denver and the Clippers have agreed on a trade sending Peyton Watson to the Cavaliers, Max Strus to LA, and an unprotected 2031 Cavs first-round pick and a 2032 Kings second-rounder to the Nuggets, sources tell ESPN.

Watson will sign a new four-year, $88… pic.twitter.com/hXqL3JvsU4
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 19, 2026

The Nuggets likely felt that they had no choice but to trade away Watson because of their financial situation, but some believe they could've found a trade for Cameron Johnson instead and re-signed Watson. In a recent episode of his podcast, The Draymond Green Show, the Golden State Warriors star explained why the Nuggets chose to trade Watson over Johnson.

"Why did they [choose to keep] Cam Johnson? Let's get into that. Number one, we see everybody running away from that second apron. The Denver Nuggets are trying to run away from that second apron. So they could not afford to sign Peyton Watson and keep Cam Johnson. I'm not sure what the market would've looked like out there for Cam Johnson, as he didn't have a great year last year. He's a little older than Peyton Watson, and if I'm not mistaken, he's in the last year or two of his contract," Green said.

Choosing Cam Johnson over Peyton Watson

If the Nuggets really came down to a choice between Johnson and Watson, as much as they would've loved to keep the young breakout, it makes much more sense to hold onto Johnson. The 30-year-old forward had a much better season than Green makes it seem, averaging 12.2 points on 43% shooting from deep, while in the final year of his contract for $23 million.

Instead of committing over $80 million to Watson, they keep Johnson for a fraction of the price, which will give them much more flexibility next offseason, even giving them the option to re-sign Johnson to a more team-friendly contract, as Green explains as well.

"I think the sentiment in Denver could be Peyton Watson's next deal is only going to go up from here. Cam Johnson's may revert back the opposite way. So in turn, you can afford to keep him longer than you can necessarily keep Peyton Watson. I think that's some of the things that go into these decisions that most people don't necessarily realize is that when they're making these plans, they're planning for the future as well," he said.

Peyton Watson says goodbye to Denver 🎱 pic.twitter.com/P8llpxJ9Z1
— DNVR Nuggets (@DNVR_Nuggets) August 25, 2026

While it seems weird to trade 23-year-old Watson while "planning for the future," it makes sense what Green is saying. If the Nuggets re-signed Watson to $22 million per year, they would be committing significant money to Watson, Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, and Christian Braun.

Barring any other moves, their starting lineup would be set in stone moving forward, with barely anything to spend on a solid bench unit, and that is likely something the Nuggets were not completely comfortable with.

As much as it might sting to trade away Watson, this is the reality the Nuggets are in. Even after parting with their breakout wing, they are still in the second apron and owe a significant luxury tax bill. To get under the feared second apron, they will still have to make a money-saving trade, so imagine the position they would be in if they re-signed Watson.

Signing DeMar DeRozan to a veteran minimum contract will at least help the Nuggets' bench enough to not feel Watson's absence as much, but after this trade, the franchise needs to have a secure long-term plan to keep Jokic and company in title contention.

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