Warriors to call up C.J. Watson?

by Evil E on Jan 10, 2008 11:10 PM PST

According to this Draft Express article, the Warriors may soon call up C.J. Watson, the D-League Player of the Month for December.

Rio Grande Valley Vipers point guard and DraftExpress blogger C.J. Watson has been named the D-League performer of the month for December. In his first D-League season, Watson has averages of 25.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game while shooting 51.4% from the field. The 23 year-old point guard has the Vipers at 9-5 on the season, while leading the team in both scoring assists. Watson currently ranks atop our call-up list, and has been closely followed by a number of NBA scouts this season. The Vipers rely on him to run their offense, gearing their sets around pick and rolls where he can either score or dish the ball to one of his shooters on the wing. A graduate of Tennessee, Watson played overseas last season, before joining the Charlotte Bobcats for training camp in October. The Vipers selected him 5th overall in the 2007 D-League draft. There are rumors that he may get a callup from the Golden State Warriors sometime soon.

I don't remember seeing Watson play in college, but his D-League stats look pretty good. His shooting %'s (50.6% FG, 40% 3P, 89.8% FT) are extremely solid and he can obviously put the ball in the hole (26.4 ppg). His 1.66 assist/ turnover ratio is pretty suspect tho. Obviously, how well he plays defense is pretty important as well.

If you want to read more about CJ Watson, here's his Intro blog at Draft Express

This FanPost is a submission from a member of the mighty Golden State of Mind community. While we're all here to throw up that W, these words do not necessarily reflect the views of the GSoM Crew. Still, chances are the preceding post is Unstoppable Baby!

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Watson

I saw him play in college when UNC played Tenn a year ago. Ty Lawson made him look real, real slow, but Lawson tends to do that with most players with anything less than Iverson, Ellis or Arenas-level speed. He shot the ball well and, importantly, didn't appear to do anything stupid. He's really a combo guard more than a point guard, but that may work fine for him in a backup role.

The NBDL numbers are impressive. Those sort of rebound numbers from a point guard, even in the dev league suggest that he finds a way to get to the ball. That's a nice skill to have. I think this would be a very, very nice acquisition in a 10 day callup.

by jae on Jan 6, 2008 2:34 PM PST reply actions

RE: Watson

JAE you may have saw Watson against UNC but Lawson wasn't there yet. CJ graduated two years ago and Lawson was a freshman last year. Anyway CJ always has been an underrated guard who does pretty much everything well. Hopefully he will be given a chance to show what he can do

by cyclonevol on Jan 7, 2008 5:02 PM PST up reply actions

yup

You're right. I'm confusing him with Chris Lofton, their replacement combo guard who looked slow compared to Lawson.

by jae on Jan 7, 2008 6:46 PM PST up reply actions

Excellent

I'm happy they're willing to take a shot on a prospect rather than go with a retread like Payton or Boykins.

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AIM: Jetforze

by OptionZero @ Golden State Of Mind on Jan 6, 2008 2:46 PM PST reply actions

I hope this...

...happens sooner rather than later. Mullin plucked Azubuike out of the D-League, and I'd like to see him look there more often. There are tons of supremely talented, motivated players down there who are cheap and can help teams win. I'm happy that the Warriors seem to be ahead of the curve in terms of using the D-League as a strength, not a dismissed joke.

by Zack Vank on Jan 6, 2008 3:00 PM PST reply actions

just judging by stats

he seems like the kind of player i don't want the warriors to get for the back up pg role. he seems like more of a scorer than a distributer, and we already had that (see: hudson, troy). again, this is just based on stats and he may look to score on that team simply out of need. as long as nelson gives him a chance to play and rest baron then we'll see how it goes

by AJC3317 on Jan 6, 2008 4:02 PM PST reply actions

if Hudson shot 50% from the field

I wouldn't care if he was a shoot-first pg or a distributor. What it came down to me was that Hudson was a shoot-first pg that didn't have a good shot, i.e. he wasn't good

It's almost like the Warriors have 6 guys out there... they always have a guy open! - Jon Barry commentating game 3 last year

by gsw4life on Jan 7, 2008 12:25 AM PST up reply actions

Guy looks like he can ball

Seriously, the guy shoots 50%, 40% from range, and gets to the line 11 times per game, 89% when he gets there.

From the stats and article, he definitely looks like a scorer playing PG because he's their best player and they want the ball in his hands (ala. LBJ/Wade... obviously not that talent level, just the way the team uses him). Seems like he'd fit into the "undersized SG/backup PG" role. Who's supposed to fit that role now? Hummm... the winds o' change are a'blowin'.

Then again, it's just rumors and D League stats. It doesn't mean anything.