For a trade exception, a 2nd round pick, and maybe some cash considerations. What can you guys tell me about Watson?
Very fast, torched the D-League for 25 points a game, on 50% FG, 40% Three, 80% FT... got called up and played good backup minutes for Don Nelson. Antother undersized SG. He has a scorer's mentality, and he lacks a PG's smarts. Does not see the floor very well. Does not pass well. Does not defend well. Plays phantom defense, goes for a lot of steals because he couldn't put a body on Earl Boykins if he tried... Has gotten a bit stronger and tougher last season (his agent probably forced him to) but still not much different. Very good scorer, very calm demeanor... lots of runners, floaters, jumpers, and threes... finishes well inside for a little guy... awesome scorer in the open court, but a frustrating passer, especially for a "PG." Does not read the lanes well... does not deliver the ball well... will force a 3-on-1... GS fans here pretty much agreed he isn't worth $3.5 mils a year. I don't see why not... he's a decent backup but would not be a good starter because he A)cannot run a club at the PG B) is too small to seriously try starting at the SG Now, tell us about your 2nr round pick
Good backup. IMO hes a combo guard, not a pure SG (also not a pure PG). He can play the PG fine IMO, hes not going to be dishing out assists left and right but hes also not going to make a lot of terrible decisions. I think hes a very average athlete by NBA standards but he uses his intelligence to make up for it. Hes learned to go hard at the rim and get fouled if he can't finish, he shoots very well fro mid-range and 3 pt. On ball defense sucks but he gets a ton of steals and I believe is one of the tops in the leagues in steals per minute. Can score pretty well, doesn't turn it over much, gambles on defense, not a great athlete, adequate handle and takes care of the ball well enough to backup PG.
I think you'll like him on the Bulls. He won't be as good as Kirk Hinrich, but he'll be an adequate backup at a much cheaper salary. Now, I don't get this deal for the Warriors. We need bench players and Riley keeps giving the store away. We do not have twelve players on the team anymore. Some people thought it was going to come down to Morrow or Watson, whoever was cheaper. After this, I know we should've kept Morrow. 3-pt shooters do not grow on trees and are valuable. On top of that, keeping CJ for one year cost us Orlando's first round pick, a player and cash for a 2011 second round pick and a cheap TPE. What are we going to do with all the trade exceptions? They're not like cap space unless they're used in trades. I suppose Tolliver and George will be back, but our bench took a hit for the worse. It's unfair to blame David Lee for the Warriors regression.
He's a streak scorer. CJ will come off the bench and actually win you games. He has Derek Fisher syndrome (where he thinks he's much better than he is) but that actually is valuable at times. He's a game changer in short spurts. This will also lose you some games because he'll change the flow of the game at times. I actually thought he would've made for a good starting point guard in Miami because they would've forced him to shoot less, but still push the ball. Like others said, he doesn't make the best decisions, but he'll make up for it in other ways.
Has a nice pull up jumper which he can hit at times in pressure situations. A decent scorer against a team's second unit. Has some size but not especially quick. Definitely a "combo" guard. (Someone once said "show me someone who can do two good things and I'll show you someone who cannot do one thing well", that's what I think of "combo" anything). Perfect for a very good team, someone who can do a few good things in short spurts. I think his defense got a little better as he got more used to the league. Tough guy who played through an elbow strain one time. Not sad to see him go, $3.5M is too much for a team like the Warriors and he took minutes away from Curry and hopefully now Jeremy Lin!
Here's hist quote: http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/nba/news/story?id=5393968 He was desperate to get out of GS last year (twittering to his Orlando fans "GS, why won't you just let me go?") Now he seems thrilled again this year to be leaving. He didn't mention a word about GS, the fans, coaches, or his former teammates. This team made CJ Watson. Pulled him off the scrap heap D-League and gave him big time minutes (and the green light) for several years. You'd think he would at least thank GS for his time here.
The more I hear of him via twitter and whatnot the more I think the guy is a little off. Not a bad locker room presence lol but jut a little...strange.
From his twitter yesterday: "Just got off the plane and got all these tweets thanks to everyone happy to b n a new situation thanks to all the warriors fans I love yall" "Thanks to everyone at the warriors for giving me a chance and thank god for everything now time to do work in chi town" But yeah, I agree...he seems like an odd cat. ___
Assuming this is Lacob's move, what's he gonna do now for 3-pt shooting, defense and backup PG? I gotta think it's better than George and Tolliver. The Warriors were a 32 - 50 win team based mainly on outscoring their opponents with the 3-ball and getting turnovers as part of that "repertoire" (throw in Marv Albert voice here).
Tolliver is ok but George just isn't good enough to be a part of the 10 man rotation. Tolliver I only even want back because Wright can snap in half at any moment and Udoh is injured. Our bench went from Azu, Turiaf, Watson, AR/Wright, Tolliver, Hunter, R. Williams to R. Williams, Wright, Vladrad, Bell, Gadzuric. I have no confidence in Wright playing more than 30 games. Udoh won't be back until like January. Gadzuric actually had a good year way back so I don't know why he fell off so bad. Vladrad couldn't shoot last year so hes useless (way to oslow to play the 3 these days too IMO). Williams is a fine bench player and Bell is serviceable because he can play defense and score a little bit but we desperately need some relief for Curry and Beans.
Forget the bench for the moment. This is a total strip down and rebuilding job. I'm not worried about the 6-10 bench players; I want to see the core constructed first. CJ Watson? He's a throwaway to a strip job. Maggette? could care less. Same for Tolliver/Reggie Williams/Devean George. I'm concerned about what players are going to be key players for the next 2-3 years. Curry. Check. David Lee. Check (at least given the $80M investment) Dorell Wright? I guess so. Monta? Should he stay or should he go? I don't even know. Biedrins? Not a huge contract, former double-double guy, can he recapture that production? I hope so. After these five? I really don't care right now. I don't care if they win 40 or 25, what I care about more is how are they playing? Do Curry and Lee play well off each other? How about the other 3 guys? Then and only then will I start sweating where the others fall into place.
The rumor was Orlando was offering a 1st round and an expiring contract. Basically it made no sense for us to reject it, and it was so crazy that Smith, who played for and worked for the Warriors before, could only guess that it was like some kind of resentment (though he had no clue from what incident) because no other explanation really made sense.
Well said. I don't know if its optimistic to think Lacob is already installing his greater 'plan' for getting us back to respectability. If so I like to think its going like this. Like you said, Curry and Lee are for sure core guys. Monta, Wright, and Biedrins are getting their chance going into this season but not locks. Don't spend big money on guys who aren't core guys- once you get a good core the role players will emerge/be acquired. Likewise, if we don't have that contending core down then don't overspend on non-core guys- let the Watsons, Morrows, etc. sign elsewhere for borderline overpaying deals and continue to invest in cheap young talent who can blossom into role players (R. Williams, Lin, Tollver?).
