Advertisement - scroll for more content
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement - scroll for more content
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Chris Fedor: #Cavs Peyton Watson is OUT tonight.
“Just to go out there with a mean streak. Go out there and try to kill. Take no prisoners mentality,” Watson said. “That’s my mentality, and that’s something I’ll be echoing to the team. There is no time for being nice and buddy-buddy with the opposition. The league is more competitive than ever, and there are guys going out there that are trying to take what you have, and they want what you have. “Being a good team is a blessing, but also a curse in the fact that we have a target on our backs. People see that we’re slated to be one of the better teams, or we’re slated to be a really strong roster. They see that and they say, ‘I can’t wait to play those guys.’ I think our mentality is that we can’t wait to play all they a-- either.”
Donovan Mitchell: “I think we could be a top-five defense. I believe that at our, when I first got here, our first two years we were a top-ten, wasn’t it? Something like that. I think there’s people we’ve added, like Peyton. I think a full year of camp and kind of trying not to give too much, but things we’ve added, things we’ve done, I think it kind of helped with that as well. Last year we changed some things, and then also adding James, we were trying to change stuff on the fly. I think this year coming in, I’m really excited about what we can do as far as protecting our paint, protecting ourselves, protecting each other out there on the floor. I think we’ll do a better job, that’s for sure.”
Nearly a month later, the Cavs made a five-team trade for swingman Peyton Watson, which involved the departures of veterans Max Strus and Dennis Schröder. That created a path for Porter to become the team’s backup point guard, something he’s been working for his entire career. “In this job, you hate to see guys go but it’s kind of how it is — something has to happen to get an opportunity,” Porter said. “The opportunity is there and I have to go take it. Honestly, it’s all in my hands.”
Donovan Mitchell: “The biggest thing is our length, our versatility. Adding a guy like Peyton Watson changes us in a major way. Obviously you have Jaylon Tyson on the perimeter as well, even Mario Hezonja. Just our size, our athleticism, being able to implement different coverages, different schemes, I think will definitely be able to help us come down the stretch. Not be so one track minded defensively and obviously having Evan and Jaylen, they do their thing back there for us as always and they lead us. But I think with the addition of Peyton and Tyson, I think those two are going to elevate us from the perimeter spot.”
Advertisement
“He’s 6-foot-8. He’s rangy. He’s bouncy. He fits with this group,” president of basketball operations Koby Altman said. “It’s rare and unique that you have an opportunity to add a player of that upside, that magnitude to this group. Every minute he’s been out on the basketball floor has been with an eye towards playoffs. With all those meaningful reps, he comes to our team in the same vein. We’re trying to win a championship. He understands the importance of possessions. He understands the importance of teamwork and how you build toward the ultimate success. We’re really high on Peyton.”
“The moment (the Cavs) got on, they were really, really persistent,” Watson said. “That’s something that eventually ended up helping steer me to the Cleveland Cavaliers.”
Mike Vorkunov: Why did the Nuggets trade Peyton Watson? Nuggets EVP Basketball Ops Ben Tenzer: "We were comfortable with trading him if the price got to the point where we were excited about the return. And although we didn't get a player back, we got some very valuable draft capital. And we didn't have to do it but our internal thoughts were: as long as we got what we were asking for, we were we were comfortable doing."
Bennet Durando: Ben Tenzer: "Peyton (Watson) did a lot of great things here. Great player. Great person." Says they felt comfortable trading him in restricted free agency if the price was right. Jon Wallace says he doesn't feel like Watson quit on the team.
Donovan Mitchell on LeBron James signing with Philadelphia after Cleveland’s pursuit: “I mean, I think for a lot of reasons it made sense. I didn’t think Philly. I thought if he didn’t come here, it’d be Golden State. But I probably knew as much as you did as far as that. It made sense to me. That’s why my brain was like, ‘Alright, it’s probably going to happen.’ But it didn’t. At the end of the day, I’m glad we made the move and we got P-Watt [Peyton Watson].
Advertisement
Peyton Watson on Donovan Mitchell: "Since it's been announced that I was going to be a Cleveland Cavalier, he took the initiative to get to know me, to make me feel included, to invite me to pretty much everything he's done for the better part of this last month or so of offseason. And it just shows the type of guy that he is, and I think that's something that I was really drawn to because I love to do that stuff. I love to get to know people, I love to know who I'm playing with, and he's just made it super easy bridging that gap."
Peyton Watson: "I'm a lifelong learner. I'm somebody who's very inquisitive. I'm somebody who likes to be educated about a lot of stuff and knowledgeable about a lot of things. And things that I don't know about, I'm always trying to search for answers and more information about. So, I'm just somebody who really loves the life that I've been able to make for myself. Super blessed, super grounded, and I'm looking forward to learning as much as I can."
There wasn’t a whole lot of difference between the Raptors and Cavaliers in the post-season. The arrival of Leonard, the departure of Strus and Wade (even with the arrival of Peyton Watson) and a healthy Immanuel Quickley changes the dynamic, in my mind. Uncle Dennis is and was one of one. There had been high-maintenance agents and hangers-on but none, as far as I’ve ever heard in more than 30 years, as blatant as him.
