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Peyton Watson

Cleveland Cavaliers · Reserve
SF6'8"200 lbage 235 yrs expUCLALong Beach, CA
8th best of 9 on CLEworth +0.4 wins to the rotation
OFF72DEF74
Elite rim protector & scorer
CLE
Cleveland Cavaliers
Eastern · Central · proj. 52-30 (▼4.2)
→

A long, springy young wing whose calling card is rim protection from the forward spot — 1.1 blocks a game and a 90th-percentile shot-blocker on the perimeter. He chipped in 14.6 points and shot a promising 41% from three on real volume. The handle and playmaking are still raw, but the two-way athletic upside is real and he hits free agency with momentum.

14.6
PPG
4.9
RPG
2.1
APG
0.9
SPG
1.1
BPG
GP 54MPG 29.6FG% 49.13P% 41.1FT% 73TS% 59.4USG% 20.6PER 14.3BPM -1.2VORP 0.3
2025-26 regular season · bars are percentile at his position

NBA player ratings

0–99 · 2025-26 form
Rim protection97
Scoring82
Shooting80
Perimeter defense71
Rebounding70
Inside finishing67
Playmaking64

Skill ratings are 2025-26 per-game and advanced stats (Basketball-Reference) ranked 0–99 within position (guards vs guards, bigs vs bigs). Overall is anchored to EPM impact on a non-linear curve, nudged by these skills; Offense and Defense come from box plus-minus. A player who missed the latest season is shown from his most recent one.

Career

2022-23 to 2025-26 · 4 seasons
8.7
PPG
3.5
RPG
1.3
APG
225
GAMES
Points 1,947Win Shares 7.8Starts 64Best season 2025-26 · 14.6 ppg
Games played, last three seasons82%

Regular season, 2003-04 onward (Basketball-Reference). Averages are weighted by games played; honours count awards won, not finishes. “Current players” means the 802 who played in the last three seasons.

Trajectory

2023-24 → 2025-26 · age 21 → 23
▲Rising

Peyton, at 23, is on a clear upward trajectory — -2.2 → -1.2 box plus-minus over the window.

Age curve▬ On curve
Developing about on schedule for his age.
2026-27 forecast▲ 2.5 wins (+0.8)
Assumes a normal season; he played 54 games last year. Age should add a little at 24. Range 1.7–3.3 wins.
Production (BPM)-2.2 → -1.2+1.026-27 forecast -1.2
His per-possession game has clearly sharpened.
2023-24: -2.2 · 80 games2024-25: -1.8 · 68 games2025-26: -1.2 · 54 games2026-27: -1.2 (forecast)23-2425-2626-27
Value to team (wins)1.0 → 1.7+0.726-27 forecast 2.5
His value to a team has been stable.
2023-24: 1.0 · 80 games2024-25: 1.4 · 68 games2025-26: 1.7 · 54 games2026-27: 2.5 (forecast)23-2425-2626-27
Contract value2026-27: worth $5.5M vs $22.0M salary−$16.5M
He is paid more than his play is projected to be worth.
$22.0M salary2023-24: $2.8M · 80 games2024-25: $3.4M · 68 games2025-26: $4.1M · 54 games2026-27: $5.5M (forecast)23-2425-2626-27
Current deal: $22,000,000 cap hit · through '26. On the contract row the flat dashed line is this salary, so the gap to the 2026-27 forecast is the surplus.

Seasons from Basketball-Reference (2023-24 → 2025-26). Production is box plus-minus, a per-possession measure. Value is VORP-based wins, so it also counts games played. Contract value is what each season’s play would fetch on the open market. The dotted 2026-27 point is a forecast: his established level, a year older, assuming a normal season.

Contract

2026-27
$22,000,000Guaranteed
10% of the club’s payroll · 5th of 13 priced deals
Runs through—
Est. market value$5,509,111 /yr
Surplus−$16,490,889
ABOVE VALUEpaid above his on-court value

Market value is an estimate, not a reported figure: what his play is forecast to fetch on the open market in 2026-27 — his current rating, a year older. Cap thresholds are projected for 2026-27 until the league sets them.

2026-27 off-season

1 move

OFFICIAL means the league’s own records carry the move; AGREED means a trusted insider reported it and the league has not processed it yet. Terms and attribution come from the wire, which is the only source that carries them.

Plays like

same position

Nearest skill profiles across the seven rating axes — who he plays like, not who is as good. The rating beside each name answers that second question.