The Los Angeles Lakers paid an arm and a leg to bring Walker Kessler to town in a sign-and-trade. And now, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line, the Denver Nuggets are looking for a similar trade package in a Peyton Watson sign-and-trade. That’s unfortunate news for the rest of the NBA.
Teams that are interested in adding Watson this summer will now have an uphill battle in a potential sign-and-trade. Giving up as much as the Lakers did for Kessler is no easy task. Teams will have to send out an absolute haul if they want to pry Watson from the Nuggets.
The Lakers shelled out a ton of draft picks for Kessler, and now, they may have ruined the Watson trade market for the rest of the league.
Walker Kessler trade set a high price point for Peyton Watson
LA found itself in a very unique position this summer when it came to trading for Kessler. Not only did the Lakers have cap space, but they have a very specific set of needs.
Building around Luka Doncic (and Austin Reaves) takes a very specific supporting cast. If the Lakers want to win at the highest level, they needed to add some things this summer.
Defense is crucial, especially on the perimeter. As is three-point shooting, as Doncic and Reaves need to play next to great spacing if they want to help the Lakers win.
But perhaps most important of all is a center. For a Doncic-led (and, to a lesser extent, Reaves-led) team to succeed, it needs an elite big man to run the pick-and-roll and protect the rim.
Kessler looks like he can be that for the Lakers. So, when it came time to bring him on board, the Lakers were willing to pay a premium for him. Teams may not want to pay a premium for Watson.
Don’t get me wrong, Watson is a quality player. He looks like he has the potential to be a great 3-and-D forward in the NBA, but he’s not really the type of player that you would want to trade a draft-pick haul for.
Plus, since most teams don’t have cap space, they would have to send back matching salary to the Nuggets in a deal. That makes things even more complicated.
Watson can play. But any team that trades for him likely won’t be in the same situation that the Lakers were with Kessler.
LA set the market with the Kessler deal. Now, NBA teams interested in Watson will have to pay.
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