​NEW YORK, NY – MAY 21: Donovan Mitchell #45 and James Harden #1 of the Cleveland Cavaliers look on during the game against the New York Knicks during Game Two of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals on May 21, 2026 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images The Cleveland Cavaliers are in a precarious position. On one hand, they just had their most successful postseason run since trading for Donovan Mitchell four years ago – earning their first Eastern Conference Finals bid since 2018. However, on the other hand, the way they were so thoroughly dismantled by the New York Knicks made it apparent that they were far from a true title hopeful.The first part of the offseason only served to further this gap. While the Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors, Indiana Pacers, and Boston Celtics all got better, the Cavaliers lost Dean Wade (one of the team’s best connectors) and Keon Ellis, and they completely flailed on the LeBron James sweepstakes.  Their championship window seemed to be slamming shut before it was ever really open. That is, until the Cavaliers front office got creative – orchestrating a five-team deal that cost them Dennis Schroder, Max Strus, and future draft capital to net Peyton Watson, the best two-way wing/forward left on the market at that point. Now, the Cavaliers are officially all the way in. They made the big swing for Watson, shipped out Darius Garland for James Harden (then extended him), and gifted Donovan Mitchell a heavy extension. Cleveland has exhausted pretty much all their resources, but is it enough?View LinkThe 2026-27 Cleveland Cavaliers, On PaperIf you take one thing away from this article, it should be that everything kind of hinges on Watson. Since the Nuggets drafted Watson with the 30th overall pick, he’s always been a tantalizing defensive prospect. Folks compare him to prime Jonathan Isaac because of his combination of length, defensive playmaking, and lateral agility. He’s regularly in the upper echelon in block rate (93rd percentile block rate in the first three years of his career), despite not being a center and taking on tough perimeter defensive assignments. In 2024-25, Watson began to flash some off-the-dribble upside, and then last year, courtesy of some injuries and his maturation as a player, it all started to coalesce. In the month of January (15 games), Watson averaged 21.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.0 steal, and 1.5 blocks per game on 59.6% true shooting. To put that into some perspective, since the 2014-15 season (right around the start of the pace-and-space era), there have been 364 such instances where a player under 24 years old put those numbers up in a 15-gam