Cavs’ Peyton Watson says he felt pressure to return from hamstring injury with Nuggets

Peyton Watson is starting fresh with the Cavaliers. Perhaps that’s a good thing in more ways than one.

Watson said he felt pressure to return from a hamstring injury before he was fully ready last season with the Nuggets, eventually reinjuring it and missing Denver’s brief playoff run.

“It was really, really tough, the entire process of like my rehab,” Watson said on the Curious Mike podcast, via the Denver Gazette’s Vinny Benedetto.

Watson originally injured the hamstring in New York while putting together what he believed could be a breakout season.

“Obviously when I got injured in New York, it was just a sickening feeling because I was up to win Most Improved, like I was up for a lot of stuff,” he said.

Watson said he was back on the court with coaches within two or three weeks when he felt another tweak.

“I remember feeling pressure to get back and get some games under my belt to warm up before playoffs,” he said.

Watson eventually reinjured the hamstring late in the season and wasn’t cleared for full-court five-on-five work before Denver’s first-round series ended, according to Vinny Benedetto of the Denver Gazette.

For the Cavs, all of that is now part of the background on a player they’re counting on heavily.

Cleveland acquired Watson this summer and signed the 23-year-old to a four-year, $88 million contract, sending Max Strus and an unprotected 2031 first-round pick to Denver as part of the deal.

The Cavs believe Watson can provide exactly what they lacked against the Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals. Specifically, size, athleticism and someone capable of defending bigger wings. He also shot 41 percent from beyond the arc last season.

So Cleveland didn’t acquire Watson merely as another rotation piece. The Cavs paid him and traded for him with the expectation that he’ll make a significant difference.

After the way last season ended for Watson, staying on the court will be the first step.