Rich Paul makes Peyton Watson admission after trade

On a recent edition of Game Over with Max Kellerman and Rich Paul, Paul spoke about an intriguing conversation he had with new Cleveland Cavaliers guard Peyton Watson. Per Paul, he had to save Watson from himself, as he ultimately looked to come back from his injury to play with the Nuggets in the first-round matchup against the Timberwolves.

Rich Paul says he had to save Peyton Watson ‘from himself’

“When you're dealing with those soft tissue hamstring injuries, you have to be very careful in your return. Guys wanna play. You have to protect them from themselves in that moment because you're up for a contract, and… pic.twitter.com/88M3LPn4D0

— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) August 22, 2026

“He was a restricted free agent. Remember, he did not finish the season how you’ve been playing the playoffs, he was doing with a hamstring injury, soft tissue injury. And when you dealing with those injuries, you have to be very careful in your return guys want to play you have to protect them from themselves in that moment because you up for a contract and it’s the playoffs, and I’ve had a pretty good year, a very good year, so I need to play and it’s important to protect that.”

Watson put together the best season of his career last year, appearing in 54 games for the Nuggets and averaging 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.1 blocks while shooting 49% from the field. He held down a starting role in 40 of those 54 appearances. His breakout campaign came to a premature end, though, as a hamstring strain kept him sidelined for Denver’s first-round playoff series against the Timberwolves.

He was subsequently moved to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a blockbuster multi-team trade last week, in which Cavaliers swingman Max Strus rejoined former teammate Darius Garland in Los Angeles with the Clippers. Watson then signed a four-year, $88 million contract.

Now he looks to be the missing piece for a Cavaliers team that made the Eastern Conference finals last season.

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