NBA Rumors: C.J Watson would be a good fit in San Antonio

April 26, 2012; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls point guard C.J. Watson (7) is defended by Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Donald Sloan (15) during the first quarter at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-US PRESSWIRE

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Chicago won’t guarantee the final year of C.J Watson’s contract for the 2012-13 season according to Alex Kennedy of Hoopsworld.

Here is Kennedy’s full article:

The Chicago Bulls won’t guarantee C.J. Watson’s contract for the 2012-13 season, according to sources     close to the situation. Watson will become an unrestricted free agent if he clears waivers.

The final year of Watson’s contract would have paid the point guard $3.2 million, but Chicago decided to go     in a different direction, agreeing to terms with free agent Kirk Hinrich on Sunday morning.

The deadline for the Bulls to waive C.J. Watson is July 10. They’re attempting to trade him before that date,     according to sources.

I’ll be honest: I’m a bit surprised that Chicago would decline an option to an above-average backup point guard on a team devoid of their incumbent, Derrick Rose, and for below market value. The move doesn’t make much sense.

Logic notwithstanding: Watson would be an ideal fit for San Antonio. He would fortify the backup point guard position in a way Gary Neal couldn’t (though, honestly, Neal may be a better fit than most Spurs fans believe). For the people who detest Neal, he scored 25.9 points per 48 minutes playing point. Anyway.

Watson assisted on 27.2% of Chicago’s possessions when he was on the floor. Though Watson efficiency was notably lower than Neal’s, it can be partially attributed to their different roles — Watson was expected to create for himself while Neal was generally expected to spot-up.

While looking through Watson’s stats, I found two tidbits of information that bode well for Watson. First: He converted on 47% of his corner 3-pointers since the 2010-11 season, per NBA.com/Stats, which is an integral part of Gregg Popovich’s offense. Watson also bested Neal’s efficiency on spot-ups, scoring 1.08 points per possession, indicating that he can easily morph into an efficient perimeter shooter as well.

Considering the Spurs allowed 104.8 points per 100 possessions with Neal on the floor, a change may be necessary. Just keep in mind that Watson will cost much more than Neal, who is set to earn $854,389 this season.