Watson Out, Williams In?

Alex Kennedy of RealGM.com reported yesterday that the Golden State Warriors turned down Orlando’s trade proposal in another attempt to land Restricted Free Agent PG CJ Watson. Orlando offered the Warriors a package of a future first-round pick, PG Anthony Johnson, and possibly another Guard, most likely SG JJ Redick.

That is quite a nice package for a backup PG. The Warriors would have received a solid veteran PG, a potential 3-point sharpshooter and best of all, a first round pick. I’m shocked that the Warriors turned this trade down, but also a little relieved that the Magic did not lose another first-round pick after not having one this season. Although I would love to have Watson on this team, that is just too much to give up for him.

Reports of a connection between Jason Williams and the Magic were reported last week and with CJ Watson now likely out of the picture, Magic General Manager Otis Smith worked out former Miami Heat PG Jason Williams on Tuesday at the RDV Sportsplex.

Orlando Sentinel writer Mike Bianchi is reporting that signing Jason Williams is a “possibility” for the Magic.

General Manager Otis Smith confirmed Tuesday that veteran point guard Jason Williams, the former University of Florida player who’s now living in Orlando, worked out for the team this morning and is a candidate for a spot on the Magic roster.

“He looked OK,” Smith said, “especially for a guy who’s sat out a year. … He’s a possibility.”

Tania Ganguli of the Orlando Sentinel is reporting that the Magic will not bring any other players in for a workout and although the chances of acquiring CJ Watson seem slim, Otis Smith is not ruling anything out.

“Nothing is dead. We’re still trying to find a way to get our team better. At this point everything is still open.”
Watson still hasn’t signed a contract with Golden State, and as far as Smith’s concerned, that means he’s still available. The Magic haven’t made the restricted free agent an offer. He’s got a qualifying offer and a three-year, $4.5 million offer from the Warriors.
I asked if the team is still considering a sign-and-trade and Smith said, “It’s going to always be an option even after we sign someone, it’s going to be an option.”

If Watson is no long a possibility and it looks like he is not, I like Jason Williams as a backup PG. At times he is a chucker and he struggles on defense, but he is an excellent distributor, has turned around his turnover-prone ways and is a good leader on the floor as a PG. Even if an acquisition of Watson didn’t work out, The Magic still have several assets, including the TPE, to acquire a PG during the season. Williams has already been offered a contract by the Memphis Grizzlies, but he hasn’t accepted their offer. The attraction of playing for a championship contender like the Magic would probably be too great for Williams to sign with Memphis or the other club interested in him, the New York Knicks, should the Magic offer Williams a contract. With Orlando’s obvious desire to acquire another PG, I would expect this offer to come and come soon, probably some time this week.

(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger.Subscribe to his RSS feed and add him on Twitter to follow him daily. .)