http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/columni...,3363440.column <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Awkward moment of the week had to belong to Golden State's C.J. Watson, who was honored before last week's game against the Pacers for being the 100th all-time NBA call-up from the Developmental League. Warriors executive and former Boyd Anderson star Mitch Richmond did the presenting. Watson soon is expected to be released in favor of former Heat guard Gary Payton.</div> Nice homecoming for him but can he contribute?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (GM3 @ Jan 22 2008, 01:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/columni...,3363440.column <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Awkward moment of the week had to belong to Golden State's C.J. Watson, who was honored before last week's game against the Pacers for being the 100th all-time NBA call-up from the Developmental League. Warriors executive and former Boyd Anderson star Mitch Richmond did the presenting. Watson soon is expected to be released in favor of former Heat guard Gary Payton.</div> Nice homecoming for him but can he contribute? </div> I think Watson earned the backup PG spot, I don't expect Payton to get a chance at a homecoming.
Can anyone name all 100 NBDL call ups? It's hard to say whether or not replacing Watson for Payton is a smart move. We have no idea what type of shape Payton is in because he hasn't played basketball all year. Maybe Nellie wants Payton for his post-season experience? The Warriors might not want to be on the hook for giving a guaranteed contract to Watson for the remainder of the season.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Shapecity @ Jan 22 2008, 02:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Can anyone name all 100 NBDL call ups?</div> I sure can't, but this list can: http://www.nba.com/dleague/news/alltimecallups.html
Payton is not even the same player that he used to be. While his veteran experience and polished post game will be nice, his best attributes (defense) and (quickness) isn't there. Plus, older players tend to get injured more because of all that stress on their joints accumulated over the years and plus they aren't as flexible. I felt Payton at one time was a nice option for third string, but if the Warriors found a better option, forget about it. I'd rather keep CJ Watson. If he can help us more, then he belongs. It's like having another Buke except at point guard (which we need a pretty fast player for). Plus, I felt Payton would probably blow up like he did when he got showed up against Speedy Claxton. If you don't want to get embarrassed in your home town against a backup point, play better D and drop the ego. The other thing is CJ Watson probably has to be hungrier. If he plays well and the Warriors win, then he wins more attention. Payton doesn't need that and he already won a ring. CJ Watson is probably already a better shooter than Payton. I mean we're talking Payton, a career 70% foul shooter who shot 31% on threes for his career and now has very little lateral quickness or blow-by quickness with the ball. As a result his ability to find his own shot or set up others is a lot more difficult. If we're going to grab an old player, the best is to find somebody that can plain shoot and knows how to pass. How about guys like John Stockton, Sam Cassell or an older Steve Nash? We're talking great shots, especially at the foul line. That's why I wouldn't want to overpay Baron Davis after he reaches a certain point in his career. Because he is not a good shooter like Steve Nash or any of the aforementioned guys and won't be able to do much once that quickness goes (unless he becomes a better midrange player, like from the foul line). The only benefit of grabbing Payton is to mentor the guards, especially on D. It's like when Jrich really learned from guys like Calbert Cheaney, Avery Johnson, Clif Robinson and Nick Van Exel. Those guys were all big/decent pros at one point.
