C.J. Watson’s future may be uncertain but if it were up to him, he’d be a member of the Orlando Mag...

C.J. Watson’s future may be uncertain but if it were up to him, he’d be a member of the Orlando Magic .

"I want to play with Orlando," said Watson in an interview with RealGM's Alex Kennedy. "With the four All-Stars and Stan [Van Gundy]."

The third-year point guard wants to don the blue and white Magic uniform come November but isn’t sure how or if it will get done. On Tuesday, Orlando reached an agreement with swingman Matt Barnes which could be a temporary roadblock in the Magic also acquiring Watson.

"I’m not sure if they can sign us both. I don’t think they can, that’s what I’ve heard. But I’ve also been told it may be possible so I’m not really sure," said Watson who has yet to officially sign an offer sheet with Orlando although negotiations are ongoing.

Alex Kennedy of RealGM

8 months ago Ben Q Rock 64 comments 0 recs |

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I say offer up some picks, he is better than anybody we’ll be able to get in the late first round or second round next year anyway and he’s young he fits our system and he’s got NBA experience. He knows Jameer is the starter and he dont mind playin off the bench, just wants to be part of the team. I like that, he sounds like an Otis kinda guy.

by D-RAK on Jul 22, 2009 1:09 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I'm sure he'd fit in well, but it won't matter if the team can't pay him.

I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.

"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone

by erivera7 on Jul 22, 2009 3:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Makes sense.

It is a great fit for him. He can hang out at the 3 pt line, shoot 3’s ,and pass to All-Stars.

"No matter where you go, you are what you are playa"-Jay Z

by Wmillion on Jul 22, 2009 1:26 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

See above.

I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.

"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone

by erivera7 on Jul 22, 2009 3:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hey, I Fan Shot this last night

Not cool, man!

I kid, I kid.

by bandrewg08 on Jul 22, 2009 1:26 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

ROFLCOPTER

"Blue and white...ignite...* BOOOOOM * !!!!! - Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic playoff jumbotron message)

by magic12ball on Jul 22, 2009 2:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

My bad.

Third Quarter Collapse: An Orlando Magic blog at SB Nation | Brandon Bass: "I just play hard."

by Ben Q Rock on Jul 22, 2009 4:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't know

don’t get me wrong, I think he’s a great fit. But we can get Russell Robinson for cheap, doesn’t make sense to give up picks for a guy who has a little more experience.

One Freaken Second

by magic fanatic on Jul 22, 2009 1:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Those picks will be #27-30 and #57-60

I’m not too afraid of losing them, myself. CJ watson is better than the average 27-30 pick, and much better suited for the team.

by Jwoey on Jul 22, 2009 1:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

With the cap going down and salaries going up

Draft picks are a very cheap way to fill out the roster. I’m not sure we will part with them so quickly now that we’re so deep in the tax.

by MoveThoseChains on Jul 22, 2009 1:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Salaries aren't going up

They’re going down. Salaries of contracts that were signed before the recession are still high, but any new deals will be adjusted for the economy (Unless your name is Varejao).

by Jwoey on Jul 22, 2009 3:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Let me clarify

Many of our players are signed to long-term deals already, and generally the per-year pay increases over the life of a contract. So since the Magic will have so much salary committed for the 2010-2011 season even without adding new contracts, the projected drop in the luxury tax threshold will cost them even more. Therefore, Otis would want to look for the cheapest ways possible to fill out the roster, and draft picks are pretty cheap.

by MoveThoseChains on Jul 22, 2009 7:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ahh, yes

That is true.

by Jwoey on Jul 23, 2009 1:29 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It's not what we can offer, it's what we can spend

I don’t know that offering draft picks to Golden State makes any difference. The problem is that the Barnes and Bass signings have consumed our MLE. The only thing we have left to offer is the minimum salary, and Watson is probably unwilling to play here for that.

by gift of the magi on Jul 22, 2009 1:57 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, the issue is money ..

I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.

"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone

by erivera7 on Jul 22, 2009 3:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't think thats right

GS can sign him, and then trade him to us, and we can absorb his salary, so long as its under or equal to the remainder of the Dooling TPE. Or we could blow a hole in the Hedo TPE. Either way, I don’t believe we’re contrained in this way when S&T’s get involved.

by Half-man Half-gortat on Jul 22, 2009 5:28 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Stop the NONSENSE

We can’t afford Watson, so quit teasing us!!!! Let us speak no more of Watson ever again!

by Eric9321 on Jul 22, 2009 2:07 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

can’t we pay more and just take a tax hit?

by thomaswhigham on Jul 22, 2009 2:15 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Not while over the cap with no exceptions left

We still have traded player exceptions but they can’t be used to sign free agents. They can be part of a Sign and Trade, though

by Jwoey on Jul 22, 2009 3:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Negative. That's what exceptions are for, but the Magic have exhausted them all.

Orlando can’t use the MLE or the bi-annual exception. It can use the veteran’s minimum, but that wouldn’t be enough to sign C.J. Watson. The only way something would work is through a sign-and-trade.

I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.

"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone

by erivera7 on Jul 22, 2009 3:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

What if

We backloaded Barnes’ contract with next next yr’s bi-annual, offering him the 1st yr @ the vet min., then giving him the $2 mil Bi-annual nxt yr, w/ a player option for 3rd yr to sweeten the pot. Then we would have the rest of the MLE to offer Watson. Tell me if I’m wrong somewhere!!

by pianolady on Jul 22, 2009 3:50 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

you are wrong

somewhere

by Eric9321 on Jul 22, 2009 4:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

okay I will elaborate slightly

and I may be wrong as well, I believe the deal with Barnes is two years with the second at his option. A bi-annual exception can’t be used in advance if I am not mistaken, i.e. I can’t write off next year’s salary on an exception I don’t yet have. Barnes will be taking ALL of the rest of our money leaving only minimum salaries available for the Magic to buy this year, and Watson’s minimum will be less than 1mil/yr. Which he does not want. S&T seems to be the only way to get Watson without him deciding he doesn’t like money.

by Eric9321 on Jul 22, 2009 4:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hmmmm...

Bi-annual Exception info sounds logical, but wouldn’t GS have to wait til Dec 15th to trade Watson like we have to w/Gortat since he is also a RFA? Or am I missing something there too?

by pianolady on Jul 22, 2009 4:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

S&Ts can be executed immediately.

which is different than matching the offer sheet for a RFA. :-)

by magicfaninTN on Jul 22, 2009 5:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

No, Golden State doesn't have to wait to trade Watson.

I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.

"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone

by erivera7 on Jul 22, 2009 5:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well then I guess my next question is...

Why didn’t Otis attempt to sign and trade Gortat to Houston since they showed the most interest? Or did he? Seems like it would have been easier than having to wait til December, and we may have been able to get more for him. Again, tell me if I missed something!!!

by pianolady on Jul 22, 2009 5:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I appreciate the clarifications tht have already gone forward, I'm just a glut when it comes to information!

by pianolady on Jul 22, 2009 5:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Because it's clear the team plans on keeping him for this season.

I’d be shocked, personally, if Gortat was traded during the year.

I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.

"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone

by erivera7 on Jul 22, 2009 5:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

So why didn't we just sign him?

I guess that what Otis meant about establishing Market value. Plus all the exchanged allowed him time to steal Bass, because it made Dallas appear to overlook Bass to go after Gortat…DEVIOUS

by pianolady on Jul 22, 2009 5:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

You just answered your own question.

I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.

"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone

by erivera7 on Jul 22, 2009 5:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I know...just let it flow out, it felt better...LOL

by pianolady on Jul 22, 2009 5:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Also

We tricked Gortat in a sense, we let him think weren’t willing to pay that much for him, so he took the first offer he liked that offered a starting role (in Houston, he would have been relegated to backup once Yao got back). If he had waited it out, he probably could have increased his payday a bit as well, and possibly made it harder for us to match.

by Eric9321 on Jul 22, 2009 8:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Tricked?

How is it tricking someone to, bring them from euro league, pay them since ’05 to be a summer leaguer, give them their first NBA contract and surround them with all the necessary tools to become skilled at his trade? Then after we put all this investment out we should just let him go because we have Dwight? I dont see how thats trickery its smart business.

by The Magic made Lebron run off the court on Jul 23, 2009 7:14 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Who said

Being tricky isn’t smart business?

by Eric9321 on Jul 23, 2009 10:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Only way he gets traded

if someone important goes down, really important, as he is high up there in securing the minutes on Dwight’s foul plagued evenings and elbow ending nights.

by Eric9321 on Jul 22, 2009 8:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I believe we cant add salary just for a draft pick

The only way I see it working is if we did a trade of JJ to GS (which we should do in a second)

by Souwantmyname on Jul 22, 2009 3:02 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I don't think so either

If I’ve read everything correctly, though, I think we could package part of Turk’s TPE and something silly (like the rights to swap second round draft picks) to meet the “balanced value” requirement and the “TPE must be packaged with something (but not a player)” requirement, IF Golden State was willing to do a sign-and-trade.

"When you make your final stand
I'll be right there
I'll never leave
And all I ask of you is
Believe"

by The Dark on Jul 22, 2009 3:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

No reason for GS to do that

Watson’s good enough that they can get something valuable for him, rather than salary savings.

Competant point guards aren’t so common in the NBA that you go giving them away, even if you already have four.

by eltharion_doa on Jul 23, 2009 12:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

True, no reason to do that

It’s possible, but if I were GS, I would expect to get at least a draft pick, not just rights to swap.

"When you make your final stand
I'll be right there
I'll never leave
And all I ask of you is
Believe"

by The Dark on Jul 23, 2009 1:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

One thing is for shure Otis will get something done,we’re in the same situation PG wise as we were going into last year,I dont think he’ll go into another season without a decent PG depth.

by D-RAK on Jul 22, 2009 3:11 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Maybe I'm missing something

But doesn’t Orlando have two trade exceptions that are slightly under $2 million? One for the Rafer Alston trade and one for another trade?

Why couldn’t GS sign CJ, then trade him for one of the two exceptions?

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Mike Prada on Jul 22, 2009 4:44 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

exceptions cannot be given to another team

they only allow you to take in more salary than you trade out…..which is helpful for executing trades for players whose contracts are not +/-125% +$100K of each other.

by magicfaninTN on Jul 22, 2009 5:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, but you can't swap a player for the TE

Only picks

by pianolady on Jul 22, 2009 5:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think this is slightly untrue

You can use an exception that includes a trade of players, as we used one when we acquired Vince. You can’t trade the exception by itself for a player, is that what you meant?

by Eric9321 on Jul 22, 2009 8:42 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

You don't trade a player exception, you fill it.

I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.

"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone

by erivera7 on Jul 23, 2009 2:06 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Orlando still has Dooling's TPE left, which expires today.

.. the Magic also have Turkoglu’s TPE, but I doubt the team uses that right now.

I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.

"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone

by erivera7 on Jul 22, 2009 5:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah but you just stated above that the team probably won't trade Gortat this season

So why wouldn’t they GO FOR IT and use a small part of the Hedo TPE to trade for a player of need? It would still leave something like $5 mil left over if we need it later, right?

by pianolady on Jul 22, 2009 5:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Probably doesn't mean it 100% won't happen. There is the possibility that Gortat gets traded.

When? I don’t know.

I think it’d be unwise to use Hedo’s TPE now and I know Otis isn’t going to use it until, at the earliest, during the season. Why? Because if something comes up, albeit the team doesn’t mesh well (I don’t foresee this happening) or Orlando has another injury issue (like Nelson last season), then the TPE can be used to fix those problems. To me, the TPE is Smith’s trump card and emergency play.

I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.

"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone

by erivera7 on Jul 22, 2009 6:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Right, but $5 mil isn't enough?

by pianolady on Jul 22, 2009 6:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I thought

we used that in the VC trade??

by Eric9321 on Jul 22, 2009 8:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It was used to fill part of Ryan Anderson's contract.

Like I said above, you don’t trade player exceptions .. you fill them.

I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.

"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone

by erivera7 on Jul 23, 2009 2:06 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

So, if I'm understanding the TPE correctly....

would it be more precise to say that Ryan Anderson’s contract was used to fill part of the Dooling TPE [and the rest of the Dooling TPE expired before it was filled]?

by magicfaninTN on Jul 23, 2009 1:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Correct.

I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.

"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone

by erivera7 on Jul 23, 2009 3:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not sure there's any incentive for GS to trade him

If they do trade him—and it’s clear that he wants out—they’d rather deal him to a team that can offer them something they want in return.

Third Quarter Collapse: An Orlando Magic blog at SB Nation | Brandon Bass: "I just play hard."

by Ben Q Rock on Jul 22, 2009 7:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

OR

just let him walk. Also, if there are any players that they want to add, letting Watson sign an offer sheet from another team ties up that team’s money thus removing money from competition for 7 days.

by Eric9321 on Jul 22, 2009 8:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Who is trading a player for CJ Watson though?

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Mike Prada on Jul 23, 2009 12:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Doesn't have to be a player

He’s worth at least a mid to late first round pick, I’d have thought. Dude can play.

by eltharion_doa on Jul 23, 2009 12:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'd give up our 1st round pick again this year

this time were getting a skilled YOUNG pg in return instead of a stop gap veteran

by Souwantmyname on Jul 23, 2009 3:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

it's rare that you see a guy want this badly and openly to move to a specific different team

on the basis of that, and his youth and talent level, he’d be a nice pickup. hope we can find a way to make it work.

by pinthatd12 on Jul 22, 2009 5:45 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Exactly!

It’s always a plus when you can have guys that u KNOW turned down more money or larger roles on other teams to come here. It creates a totally different atmosphere in the locker room. The fact that Vince WANTS to be here, and Barnes CHOSE to be here, along with Bass and, hopefully, Watson! This is too much, I can’t wait til they all hit the court!

by pianolady on Jul 22, 2009 5:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs