As the Los Angeles Lakers look to cap off their active offseason by adding an impact player on the wing, certain names keep coming up.
Jonathan Kuminga and P.J. Washington are two guys who have been connected to the Lakers in recent days. Stretching back even further than that, Denver Nuggets wing Peyton Watson is a player that the Lakers have had their eye on for months at this point; perhaps years.
There are a couple of barriers to the Lakers acquiring Watson, though.
Lakers' road to acquiring Peyton Watson is littered with blockades (for now)
Number one is that the Nuggets are not likely to help out the Lakers by participating in a sign-and-trade that would land Watson in Los Angeles.
Number two is that Watson is seeking a substantial payday: Lakers writer Jovan Buha reports that Watson wants a deal with an AAV higher than $25 million.
To take on this money, the Lakers would have to send out at least $18 million to stay under the first apron hard cap. It is possible. Buha noted that the Lakers could send out Jake LaRavia, Dalton Knecht, and newcomer Jaden Hardy in a deal with Denver.
But here's the thing: Even if the Nuggets liked that player package, Denver would probably also demand all four tradable draft assets from the Lakers in the Watson trade. Otherwise, why wouldn't the Nuggets just trade with other squads like the Los Angeles Clippers or the Milwaukee Bucks, teams that could give better draft capital and player capital to the Nuggets for Watson?
Peyton Watson landing with the Lakers this summer is a highly unrealistic outcome
It's been written about for weeks how good of a fit Watson would be alongside Luka Doncic and the rest of this Lakers roster. But time and time again, Lakers observers have realized how difficult it would ultimately be for LA to land Watson.
It would actually be a relief to see Watson land somewhere else so that Lakers fans could move on and stop pretending like there's a really good chance that the Lakers are going to get him. Watson is someone that the Lakers might be able to land further down the road, but as of this summer and this offseason, there's just too much working against it.
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka should keep working the phones on Washington, Kuminga, or others. The Nuggets would be foolish to dive into a sign-and-trade with the Lakers involving Watson, and we know that Denver's front office is too adequate for such a move.
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