QuietStorm makes his exit
“I’m very excited…I’m still high off the excitement” those are the words of C.J. Watson on leaving the Golden State Warriors and heading to Chicago to play for the Bulls. The Warriors traded Watson in a sign-and-trade with the Bulls in exchange for a second round pick; a relatively cheap price considering last off-season Larry Riley turned down a package from Orlando which featured a first round pick for Watson.
Watson’s departure from Golden State further depletes what was a strong back-court last season. Along with Watson, gone are Kelenna Azubuike, Corey Maggette and Anthony Morrow while the only new addition to the back-court has been Charlie Bell. Watson was a solid player for the Warriors who averaged 10.3 points, 2.8 assists and 2.6 rebounds in 65 games last season and was one of the few players on the Warriors who consistently gave an effort on defense.
While out in Las Vegas covering the NBA Summer League, I spent some time with Watson at his home to get his thoughts and mindset on his restricted free agent status and how he envisioned the off-season playing out for him. The consistent theme of our conversation was Watson’s desire to play for a winning team, who is a perennial contender playing deep into the playoffs. He was frustrated from the losses and inconsistency in Golden State and thought it was time to move on to greener pastures in more ways than one. Not being dealt to Orlando last off-season still irked Watson as the situation in Orlando was tailor made for him and he had his heart set on heading to the Magic Kingdom.
At the same time, Watson was quick to point out how grateful and thankful he was to coach Don Nelson and the Golden State Warriors organization for giving him an opportunity to showcase what he can do and believing in him. The trust and love he felt from Nellie was exactly what he’d been yearning for as Nellie allowed Watson to play his game and become a key cog on the Warriors.
In the end, Watson got what he wanted and deserved, a pay raise and an opportunity to be a contributing piece to a contender.
Warriors sign Jeremy Lin
A few weeks before the draft, I went down to Palo Alto High School to spend some time with Jeremy Lin and get his thoughts on the upcoming draft, his hopes for the future and what he was working on specifically to ensure his lifelong dream of playing in the NBA would come to fruition. During our conversation, which can be seen here, I asked Lin how it would feel playing for the Warriors considering the fact the Warriors are his hometown team and he’s been a dedicated fan his whole life.
He responded ” That would be a great situation for me…Perfect”
Fast forward to this past Tuesday night when news first broke of Jeremy Lin being close to signing a deal with the Warriors; as soon as it went public, the comments, opinions and enthusiasm from Warriors fans has been non-stop.
Lin officially signed his deal with the Warriors yesterday morning at the team HQ’s in Oakland and a short time later has his introductory press conference.
As we awaited Lin’s arrival, the number of media members in the room for his press conference was staggering; there was TV, radio, print, Asian-American media, etc. Everyone was there.
Standing quietly in the back corner of the room were Jeremy’s parents, brothers and along with them his High School coach as well as his AAU coach. All beaming with smiles as it was a proud moment for them to see Lin live out his boyhood dream.
When Lin finally entered the room and sat down to speak to the media, here’s some of what he had to say:
“My dream was to play in the NBA…The Warriors were the one team I really wanted to play for”
“Fav. Warriors player was Baron Davis because of what he did in the 2007 playoffs…Had a Latrell Sprewell poster on my wall growing up and a Joe Smith Jersey”
“In my opinion, I’m ready to go and ready to contribute right away”
“I’m a playmaker- always attacking the rim, high motor and high energy type of player”
“Compare myself to Goran Drajic”
“Not worried about the pressure…Control what I can, not worried about the rest”
Jeremy Lin’s arrival in Golden State provides him a legitimate shot at securing the back-up point guard minutes behind Stephen Curry since the Warriors are thin in the back-court and the competition is wide open. The biggest aspect of his game which needs work is his jump-shot and Lin said he plans to dedicate the time up until training camp on improving his shot and developing a consistent stroke.
To have an Asian American player on the team is huge for the Warriors especially being in a market such as the Bay Area which has a large Asian community. Let’s hope the Warriors signed Lin for what he can and will do on the basketball court and not because it’ll put more money in their pockets, yes I’m talking to you Bobby Rowell.
C.J was a lil factor im not gone lie.. I dnt no bout his d but with Lin i can be excited bout going dat way with defense and potential who can also be an offensive presence
Actually, CJ had horrible defense. He would reach, go for an unwise steal,and often that led to easy buckets for the other team. It was high effort maybe, but very undisciplined. It was playground style defense – leads to steals sometimes, but mostly, you get burned.
Good luck to CJ. Bulls a good team for him.