Orlando Magic Daily
Fansided

Assessing value on the Orlando Magic roster: The newcomers

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Jan 23, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat guard Shabazz Napier (13) drives to the basket as Indiana Pacers guard C.J. Watson (32) defends the play during the first half at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 23, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat guard Shabazz Napier (13) drives to the basket as Indiana Pacers guard C.J. Watson (32) defends the play during the first half at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 5
Next
C.J. Watson, Indiana Pacers
January 7, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Indiana Pacers guard C.J. Watson (32) dribbles the basketball against Golden State Warriors forward Harrison Barnes (40) during the third quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Pacers 117-102. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

C.J. Watson

The big free agent signing for the Magic is C.J. Watson. Brett went into his projections for Watson this year and we seem to be expecting about the same type of production from him this year in a similar backup point guard role.

Last year, Watson averaged a career-high 10.0 points per game on a career-best 51.8 percent effective field goal percentage. Watson took advantage of the “contract year” bump. Even per 36 minutes though, Watson put up some of his best career numbers — 14.4 points and 5.3 assists.

Watson had a career season and rightfully cashed in.

Before getting to what this means for his current salary, let’s look at his performance last year:

Ordered by Salary

Player Salary PER $/PER
Elfrid Payton 2,397,840 13.8 173,756.52
Reggie Jackson (TOT) 2,204,370 17.2 128,161.05
Jeremy Lamb 2,202,000 14.9 147,785.23
C.J. Watson 2,106,720 15.4 136,800.00
Beno Udrih 2,077,000 15.4 134,870.13
Ramon Sessions (TOT) 2,077,000 11.1 187,117.12
Jordan Farmar 2,077,000 9.9 209,797.98

Ordered by PER

Player Salary PER $/PER
Cory Joseph 2,023,261 15.5 130,532.97
Mo Williams (TOT) 3,750,000 15.4 243,506.49
Gerald Green 3,500,000 15.4 227,272.73
C.J. Watson 2,106,720 15.4 136,800.00
Beno Udrih 2,077,000 15.4 134,870.13
Rodney Stuckey 1,227,985 15.4 79,739.29
Rajon Rondo (BOS) 3,806,526.83 15.4 247,177.07

It seems that after his season last year, Watson proved himself to be quite a bargain. Among players with the same PER, Watson was about as effective as everyone else. His salary range for the past few years saw a ton of bargains for sure, especially from the point guard position.

The feeling with Watson is that they want him to produce at about the same level as he did last year. So what does that mean for his salary?

According to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders, Watson is set to make $5 million. At his current production that gives him a $/PER of $324,675.32. All of a sudden that makes him look overpaid — the Pacers picked Rodney Stuckey over Watson, signing him to a three-year, $21 million deal, so maybe not completely overpaid.

Among point guards that made $5 million last year, there was Victor Oladipo (15.9 PER), Ricky Rubio (15.2 PER) and Darren Collison (17.5 PER). Looking at these guys, it feels like Watson got what the market said he should get and that he produced commensurate with these more mid-level players.

Essentially, Watson’s season last year helped boost him from low-salary player to mid-level player. And if he can keep producing at the levels he did last year, he should make good on that deal.

The Verdict: Market Appropriate

Next: Jason Smith