Why Cavs believe Peyton Watson can make a major difference

The Cavaliers knew what they needed after being swept by the Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals. Namely, more size, athleticism and defense on the wing.

So that led to Peyton Watson. Cleveland acquired Watson from the Nuggets last week and signed the 23-year-old to a four-year, $88 million contract, parting with Max Strus and an unprotected 2031 first-round pick in the process.

As Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports noted, Watson gives the Cavs a legitimate option against the bigger wings who gave them so many problems against New York.

The numbers back it up. Watson ranked in the 99th percentile in defensive positional versatility last season, per Basketball Index, along with the 98th percentile in isolation defense and 97th percentile in matchup difficulty.

In other words, the Cavs didn’t acquire Watson merely because they needed another forward. They acquired him to guard people.

That’s especially important alongside Donovan Mitchell and James Harden, while allowing Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen to spend more time protecting the paint.

Iko also reported an interesting detail involving Harden. Sources close to Harden told Yahoo that he was fully on board with the Watson addition and delayed his own contract negotiations to give Cleveland time to upgrade the roster. Harden eventually agreed to a fully guaranteed three-year, $97 million deal.

Watson isn’t strictly a defensive addition, either. He shot 41 percent from 3-point range last season and has steadily improved offensively.

Whether he’s enough to push Cleveland past New York or the other contenders in an increasingly loaded East is another matter.

But the Cavs identified a weakness and addressed it aggressively. After reaching the conference finals last season, they’re clearly operating like a team that believes its championship window is right now.