Source: https://marcstein.substack.com/p/lots-more-late-night-nba-intel?r=nuq3a&utm_medium=ios

The Clippers and Bucks, meanwhile, continue to be regarded as the most credible external suitors for Watson alongside Cleveland. Watson, 23, entered restricted free agency hopeful for a deal that would pay him north of the $25 million in annual average value secured last October by teammate Christian Braun in a five-year, $125 million rookie scale contract extension.

If the Nuggets do not ultimately furnish the sort of long-term offer that Watson is willing to accept and if no sign-and-trade deal elsewhere materializes, Watson would be forced to contemplate an option he’d naturally rather avoid: Playing out the 2026-27 season on a $6.5 million qualifying offer to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

SpiritFantastic4835 | Lakers

28 | 5 hours ago

RFA drags on so long now

beefpattywagon | Timberwolves

9 | 4 hours ago

Welcome to the world under the second apron. If you want something to laugh at, look at the 2016 RFA class and how overpaid most of those guys were. NBA has changed a lot in the last 10 years.

BLAHBLAH1234BLAH1234 | Raptors

1 | 4 hours ago

Good.

BIPOC_Ally

2 | 4 hours ago

funny thing is Lebron was VP of the Player’s Union and advocated for the cap spike cause he needed to get his superteam paid. ended up allowing Warriors to get KD with that cap spike

BLAHBLAH1234BLAH1234 | Raptors

2 | 4 hours ago

Do you think LeBron was the one negotiating with the league? VP/President of NBAPA are largely symbolic, they have actual lawyers negotiating on these and all the players voting for them.

The reason for players voting for cap spike as opposed to cap smoothing was because they would get their money faster and getting an injury wouldn’t have risked missing out on that money.

BIPOC_Ally

0 | 3 hours ago

huh? what do you think unions do. Lebron specfically advocated for it in his role as VP as did Chris Paul who nabbed the pay bumps for older players

why would it need to be a negotiation? the NBA doesn’t benefit either way

“Under the league’s smoothing approach, the salary shortfall resulting from more gradual Cap increases would have been paid directly to the Players Association for distribution to all players, and thus the total compensation paid to players in any given season would not have been impacted.”

no, only players who were free agents in 2016 offseason benefited

BLAHBLAH1234BLAH1234 | Raptors

2 | 3 hours ago

You still had to be active to be paid that money, and money in the bank now is better than years down the line.

You can put that in front of any union and any rep and they would have still would have voted for cap spike.

Players care much more about the money than Warriors dynasty.

NBA players met up during all star break and unanimously voted for cap spike.

This was under guidance of Michele Roberts, their executive director who said: “There is, and was, a concern about any proposal that results in limiting a player’s ability to realize as much income as they can”.

NBAPA executive director is usually the one that does the negotiations and recommends something for the NBAPA board and reps to vote on. CP3/LeBron/CJ/FVV…. are usually the figure heads that players can contact if they want their voice to be heard. They don’t have as much power as you think they do.

wormhole222 | Heat

2 | 3 hours ago

It’s cause all the sides are attempting to wait each other out.

ShotgunStyles | Kings

1 | 3 hours ago

October 1st is the deadline to accept the QO. I guess they could speed up the RFA game by moving that date forward but no real reason to.

whiterice_343 | Timberwolves

11 | 5 hours ago

Damn Watson still hasn’t signed yet wtf

LemonButterRum

7 | 4 hours ago

kindda crazy list right now, tbh
Harden
Derozan
Duren
Mathurin

Krillin113 | 76ers

7 | 4 hours ago

Harden is only waiting to allow Cleveland to bring in someone else before capping them.

maybeAturtle

1 | an hour ago

I don’t know why no one is talking about mathurin. He’s good and young enough that I’m surprised some teams aren’t trying to get him on a bargain like Watson (though Watson more easily fitting into a winning team immediately, my point os mathurin also has value)

tore_a_bore_a | Warriors

1 | 3 hours ago

Is Watson this season’s Kuminga?

maybeAturtle

5 | an hour ago

Kuminga is this season’s kuminga

kyleb402 | Bucks

12 | 4 hours ago

Klutch uses us to drive up interest in their guys all the time.

Of course the only thing we get in return is the privilege of giving stupid contracts to Gary Trent Jr.

I would not be shocked at all if it came out later that we were never interested.

imin2099 | Lakers

9 | 5 hours ago

kuminga gonna be a laker 🥰

LemonButterRum

2 | 4 hours ago

every team needs a bones hyland type player

DukeOfStuff_ | Timberwolves

1 | 4 hours ago

Bones seems perfectly fine playing a 10th man, emergency scoring option role at least. Kuminga still thinks he’s a starting level player

BIPOC_Ally

1 | 4 hours ago

I don;t get where you see that indication. his Warriors and Hawks teammates praised his professionalism

if Kuminga was acting up like that, Jimmy or Dray would not be holding back their words. instead they criticized the Warriors having double standards for benching Kuminga while allowing others to play through mistakes

BLAHBLAH1234BLAH1234 | Raptors

0 | 4 hours ago

Which one of Lakers’ problems is he solving?

imin2099 | Lakers

1 | 4 hours ago

another poa defender and rebounder

BLAHBLAH1234BLAH1234 | Raptors

0 | 4 hours ago

He is clearly not interested in being a role player. I guess if that’s your only option 🤷‍♂️

sho0bydo0by | Bucks

6 | 4 hours ago

Just give him to us.

sanjit8103 | Nuggets

4 | 4 hours ago

Take Nnaji as well

AdministrationNo312 | San Francisco Warriors

2 | 4 hours ago

Most likely scenario if Denver doesn’t retain him.

f3killer | Lakers

6 | 4 hours ago

That Braun contract has aged so terribly.

andcanigettahottub | NBA

2 | 4 hours ago

Yes and the Murray contact not looking great either. Dude makes more than Luka

BLAHBLAH1234BLAH1234 | Raptors

2 | 3 hours ago

Is Murray this sub’s new punching bag?

Murray was very good in regular season and even carried them when Jokic was injured.

Nuggets/Jokic/Murray struggled both defensively and offensively with Aaron Gordon injured in playoffs.

Riiken | Supersonics

5 | 4 hours ago

The amount of press over a 10 game sample size is diabolical

Ok_University_4924

3 | 4 hours ago

He’ll go to the Bucks because the Clippers have to worry about Benedict Mathurin with his RFA.

AirJordan6124 | Celtics

2 | 4 hours ago

What’s the update on Duren then

Altruistic_Mode3026 | Toronto Huskies

3 | 4 hours ago

No other teams currently showing interest. Well that’s what’s been reported anyway

GlizzyGone21 | Bucks

2 | 4 hours ago

Oh we still doing this?

AdministrationNo312 | San Francisco Warriors

2 | 4 hours ago

I can see the Bucks and I can see the Clips IF Leornard gets traded.

affnn

1 | 4 hours ago

If there’s any justice the Clippers won’t be able to sign free agents for a long time.

defeated_engineer

2 | 4 hours ago

The Clippers and Bucks, meanwhile, continue to be regarded

LamboJoeRecs | Nuggets

1 | 4 hours ago

Klutch PR stays trying to work the same square peg into a round hole.

SMOKE2JJ | NBA

1 | 4 hours ago

Look, I’m not going to tell Watson what to do here, but I’ve heard.. from various sources now, that the clippers can make him an offer that nobody else can touch. Literally.

Peyton is young and has all sorts of aspirations. Why not go where you are going to be well taken care of? No matter the contract.

Focused_Sky

1 | 4 hours ago

Websites really just milk the same article over and over and pretend they are breaking information about the same player for clicks.

panicatthegetgo | Cavaliers

1 | 2 hours ago

Schrödinger’s sign-and-trade

CazOnReddit | Raptors

0 | 4 hours ago

So…we’re just done with considering Watson re-signing with the Nuggets, huh?

Maybe it’s just me but even with the RFA status allowing Denver leverage, I can’t see them getting back the same value they’re sending out. Like let’s say they get back a first round pick and a second. What is that getting you when you’re pairing it with, I guess, Zeke Nnaji’s contract? If you’re not leeping Cam then what does him and a first fetch?

I dunno, just seems like a lose-lose scenario for them and they should just succk it up, pay the repeater tax and operate as a 2nd apron team. They’re one of the few teams where it really doesn’t matter since they lack pick control for a while and don’t have much draft capital they can move, they’re in win-now mode with depth sorely needed which they can’t replace Peyton with were he sent out and on top of that they don’t have a ton of move able contracts on their books (Think 11-20M dollars) so them not being able to aggregate is whatever.

MaskedBirder | 76ers

0 | 3 hours ago

Why would the Clippers or Bucks even want him?

Dfrmdabeach700

-1 | 4 hours ago

I wish my Mavs would go for Watson. Im happy with the moves we made this offseason tho

#MFFL

[Stein] The Clippers and Bucks, meanwhile, continue to be regarded as the most credible external suitors for Watson alongside Cleveland.