C.J. Watson to opt out of Nets contract
One thing that has been said for a few weeks now is that C.J. Watson will opt out of his 1.1 million option with the Brooklyn Nets to test the free agent market and see if he can procure a larger multi-year deal from someone else.
Sources now confirm that this information is true and he will opt out.
C. J. Watson also is opting out of 1.1M guarantee, meaning Nets in market 4 point guard
— Peter Vecsey (@PeterVecsey1) June 14, 2013
Watson played a big role off the bench for the Nets last year spelling Deron Williams at the point guard and sometimes pushing Williams to the off guard for stretches.
The question now for all Nets fans is who will the Nets be able to bring in to back up Williams if Watson goes elsewhere?
My colleague Moke Hamilton breaks down the salary cap options the Nets will have if they want to bring Watson back.
[quote_simple] Moke Hamilton – SNY Nets
Since Watson played only one season with the Nets, the team does not have his Bird rights or his “early” Bird rights. However, the Nets could use what is known as the “non-Bird” exception to re-sign Watson.
The non-Bird exception is available to a team that wishes to re-sign a player that is neither a Bird free-agent or non-Bird free-agent. Yes, it is somewhat confusing, but we saw the exact same situation with the New York Knicks and J.R. Smith last summer.
Using the exception would allow the Nets to re-sign Watson for a four-year deal worth a total of $6.1 million. Watson would be eligible for a first-year salary of $1.43 million, which is actually 20 percent higher than what his minimum salary would be. It may not seem like a major difference, but once the agents and front office people crunch the numbers, the Nets may have a little advantage here.[/quote_simple]
