Watson Deal Looking Less and Less Likely; Who Will Play PG Behind Jameer?

The Orlando Magic and CJ Watson would still like to strike a deal that would allow Watson play for the Magic next season but each day, the deal seems less and less likely to happen. As reported last week, the two parties don’t seem match up financially. After the Magic signed Matt Barnes to a 2-year deal, they have used just about every resource they have. Even if the Magic did have the money to sign Watson, it appears that the Warriors would almost certainly match the offer because Watson is a restricted Free Agent and they have expressed interest in keeping the PG. The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that if the Magic have any hopes of acquiring Watson, they better work out a sign-and-trade for him.

"So that leaves a sign-and-trade deal with the Warriors as the only way the Magic can acquire Watson. But that still seems unlikely. Marcus Thompson II, who covers the Warriors for the Bay Area News Group, writes in his blog that “the Warriors would like to keep Watson at the right price. And it looks like they can.”"

This is unfortunate for both parties. The Magic don’t seem to have the assets to acquire Watson in a sign-and-trade and it sounds like the Warriors would now like to keep him. That’s strange because, with Watson, the Warriors would potentially have 5 PGs on the roster. The Magic could gauge interest in SG JJ Redick. He showed some promise last year, but with the newly-acquired Carter and Mickael Pietrus playing SG, JJ may once again be stuck on the end of the bench. The problem with that is that JJ is undersized and the Warriors already have too many smaller guards on their roster.

Watson has also publicly stated that he won’t rule out a move to Philadelphia after the 76ers lost Andre Miller to the Portland Trail Blazers.

The PG market is not very good right now and some of Orlando’s options are being scooped up by other teams.
The Magic appeared to have interest in Knicks backup PG and slam dunk champion Nate Robinson, but the New York Times is reporting that Robinson and the Knicks are close on a one-year-deal that would pay Robinson between $5-$6 million. Robinson wouldn’t have been that great of a fit with the Magic anyway.

Acie Law is another name that has popped up in trade rumors. Law spent his first 2 seasons in Atlanta before being shipped off this summer. He’s part of the PG logjam in Golden State. He’s a bigger guard at 6’3 and was an incredible college player, but he’s been a bit of a disappointment thus far in his NBA career, averaging just 3.6 PPG and just 2.9 PPG last season. Still, he is just 24 years old and has a lot of potential. Law has always been a clutch player. He’s bigger than most PGs. He needs to work on his passing and ball handling to become a true PG because he often played off f the ball in college. He is a very smart and sound player who has a good jumper. He’s a very quick player. He could stand to gain some weight and become a stronger player. He’s a little weak for his size. He needs to improve on the defensive end but with his size and quickness, so if he were to play under Stan Van Gundy, his defense would improve. He’s often inconsistent, especially in his time in the NBA. If the Warriors won’t take Redick for CJ Watson, maybe they would take him for Acie Law.

The Magic also don’t necessarily need a #2 PG. Anthony Johnson is more than capable of filling that role. Johnson played in 80 games last year even starting 12 after Jameer Nelson’s injury and before the acquisition of Rafer Alston. He averaged 5.3 PPG, 2.5 APG and 1.8 RPG while playing 18.5 MPG. His numbers dipped in the playoffs and after Jameer Nelson returned in the NBA Finals, Johnson did not play at all. Many thought this would end Johnson’s stint in Orlando, but the 34-year-old veteran will be back next season. Johnson is a smart player. He shot over 40% from the field last season and 39.1% from downtown. He’s a bigger PG at 6’3 and provided Nelson stays healthy, the Magic will be just fine with Johnson backing him up.

(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger.Subscribe to his RSS feed and add him on Twitter to follow him daily. Check out his ACC Coastal Division Football preview here.)