Ex-Gorman star Watson leaves Nets for Pacers
Las Vegan C.J. Watson is changing addresses again in the NBA.
The free-agent point guard agreed in principle to a two-year deal with the Indiana Pacers on Monday.
The deal won’t be official until July 10. But Watson, 29, reportedly will make more than the $1.1 million he got from the Brooklyn Nets last season.
The 6-foot-2-inch Watson, a former Bishop Gorman High School standout, averaged 6.8 points and 2.0 assists in 19 minutes last season as the backup to Deron Williams. He will have a similar role with the Pacers .
“I didn’t expect it to happen on the first day (of the free-agency period), but I’m excited,” Watson said. “The Pacers are a good team that went to the (Eastern) Conference finals, and they’ve got a lot of good players. I’m looking forward to playing with George Hill, Paul George, Roy (Hibbert) and the rest of those guys. I’m familiar with them, so I don’t think I’ll have any trouble fitting in with their style of play.”
Watson, entering his seventh NBA season, will be playing for his third team in three years. Before signing with Brooklyn last summer, he played two seasons with the Chicago Bulls. Before that, he spent three seasons with the Golden State Warriors.
In his six years in the NBA, Watson has averaged 20.3 minutes, 7.6 points and 2.5 assists. He is shooting 42 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free-throw line.
“It’s a good fit,” said Watson’s agent, Mike Higgins. “Indiana’s a good, young team and a contender. They have stability, which is important to C.J. He’ll get a chance to play with George Hill and also back him up.”
Higgins said Watson wouldn’t have minded staying in Brooklyn. But when the Nets made a trade with Boston last week that included Celtics guard Jason Terry, Watson was out of luck.
“They couldn’t pay him,” Higgins said. “The deal with Boston changed everything. It put Brooklyn in a different (luxury) tax bracket. That’s the system we live in now. They didn’t have room, and Indiana did.”
Watson said getting a two- year contract was as important as the money.
“It’s great to have the security,” he said. “We were looking for three years, but two is good.”
Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.
