C.J. Watson: Could he be the answer at PG?
Did you like what you saw from Warriors point guard C.J. Watson last night?
Well, he’ll be a free agent this offseason.
Watson has had an interesting road. Despite an excellent college career at Tennessee, Watson went undrafted in 2006 N.B.A. draft. He played professionally in Europe for a season before heading back over to this side of the pond. He then battled his way up through the D-League ranks as a rookie, but last season left no doubt that he’s an N.B.A. caliber guard. He finished up the season strong, with seven straight double-figure outings — including a 38-point explosion that helped the Warriors stun Utah on the road.
Still just 25 years old, Watson plays about 27 minutes per game this season for the guard-heavy Warriors and is averaging 10.1 points, 2.6 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. He’s been on a tear of late to help fill the void of Monta Ellis’ absence. He dropped a career-high 40 to lead the Warriors to a 130-98 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night. He’s scored 20 or more points in five of his last 7 games. Against the Heat last night, he dropped in 20 points (9-15 from the floor) to go along with 6 steals.
Watson is an excellent outside shooter off the catch or on the dribble. He’s more of a catch-and-shoot, off-the-ball point guard than a pure playmaker. As such, his assist totals are unspectacular. But his ability to put the ball in the basket is no longer in doubt.
Watson signed Golden State’s qualifying offer for one year, $1.03 million even though he had better possibilities, because he was worried that Warriors would match a multiyear offer sheet. Free agents with three or fewer years of experience are deemed “restricted,” in that their current teams are able to match any outside offers. He previously rejected a three-year contract from the Warriors worth $5.4 million. Apparently, Watson didn’t want to commit to three years with the Warriors, in large part because they have so many guards currently under contract.
Taking the one-year qualifying offer was risky, however. For one, Watson left more than $4 million on the table, a gutsy move for someone who was playing in the D-League less than two years ago. In addition, when Watson’s contract expires at the end of season, he’ll be in the exact same spot he was this past summer: a restricted free agent.
The risk appears to have paid off. C.J. will certainly improve upon his current $1.03 million salary next season. It does appear the Heat would have enough cap room to sign both Watson and a max contract free agent if it so chooses.
Is he the right choice?
I was impressed with this guy on Tuesday, no doubt. But I think we have to decide what we want in a pg…do we want a score first pg like this cat, or do we want a playmaking/setting up teammates for easy shots pg, or do we want a do little but drain open shots pg along side our boy DW. If I’m chosing, I go wth option B. I want a guy to make plays and take some of that pressure off dwyane AND actually make those plays for DW, who has shown that he can be money playing off the ball when there’s someone else on the team that can actually make an impressive pass (no one on the current roster fits that description, except for mr wright every once in a while).
Two other quick notes. 1. Stefan curry is the real deal. That guy reminds me of steve Nash. I say god damn!
And 2. TAlking about horrible Riley decisions, how about signing that d-bag free agent from LA that turned out to suck and then get arrested and never play for us again though we continued to pay him 1mill plus. What was that effer’s name? The media doesn’t talk about those mistakes, which unfortunately have happened quite often.
I can’t argue with your logic. The one additional dimension I would love to see in a potential future Heat PG would be strong on-ball defense. Finding one that meets all these criteria and the Heat’s price range, however, could be difficult.
Yes sir. Spoelstra made the very same comment.
I believe you are referring to the $1.66 million paid to Smush Parker last season. Riley has certainly made his share of mistakes. My latest in the list of ongoing frustrations is his draft record since selecting Wade in 2003. Evaluating talent is never easy, but I kick myself seeing players like Marc Gasol, David Lee, Monta Ellis, Anthony Morrow and Marcus Thornton pass us by when none of those the Heat selected in their places are currently playing in the NBA.