JULY 9TH, 11:18am: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.
8:20pm: The final season is partially guaranteed for $1MM, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reports.
8:57am: The Magic and Watson have reached an agreement on a three-year, $15MM deal, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (on Twitter).
Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
JULY 4TH, 12:09am: The Magic are nearing an agreement with unrestricted free agent C.J. Watson, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). It’s unclear as to the length and amount of the arrangement the two sides are discussing, though the guard is intent on securing a deal for the mid-level exception, as J. Michael of CSNWashington.com relayed earlier this week. Watson would provide backcourt depth behind Victor Oladipo and Elfrid Payton.
Watson, 31, appeared in 57 contests for the Pacers during the 2014/15 season, averaging 10.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3.6 assists in 24.9 minutes per night, and owned a slash line of .434/.400/.826. His career numbers are 7.8 PPG, 2.0 RPG, and 2.5 APG, while shooting .425/.383/.806.
The Wizards, Clippers, and Mavericks were all reported to have interest in Watson. The point guard had expressed a desire to return to the Pacers back in April, saying, ”Hopefully I’ll be back here. I like it in Indy. I love the team and the atmosphere of the city. We’ll see what happens. It’s not really in my hands. So we’ll see.”
Nice pickup for them as a backup. Also gives them some needed shooting. I wonder of they will look to add a rim protector or if Dedmon gets more time. He played well at the end of the season last year
An interior defender would certainly help. I wonder if they would be interested in trading for Taj Gibson. Putting him next to Vucevic would give the team a nice starting frontcourt. Bulls, if they behave how they historically have, should look to duck under the tax.
Not a bad thought, but I don’t think I see the bulls moving him…also, I think the early showings of Aaron Gordon have to be very encouraging for Orlando. I think they could be a playoff team this year. I’m excited to see the continued growth of Oladipo and Elfrid Payton