Watson signs on with Portland

 

The Sports Network

The Portland Trail Blazers bolstered their bench on Thursday by signing free agent veteran guard Earl Watson to a contract.

Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Watson, a 12-year veteran who spent his last three seasons with the Utah Jazz, holds career averages of 6.5 points, 4.5 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.02 steals per game.

"Earl is a consummate professional and one of the most competitive players I have ever been around," said Trail Blazers general manager Neil Olshey. "His leadership, command presence and ability to affect games with his defense are attributes we value highly, and specifically targeted in our search for players at his position."

The 34-year-old will provide backcourt depth and compete for playing time with reigning Rookie of the Year Damian Lillard and first round draft pick CJ McCollum.

Watson was drafted by Seattle in 2001 and has also played for Memphis, Denver, Oklahoma City and Indiana over the course of his career.

Read more Basketball Wires stories from the Miami Herald

Get your Miami Heat Fan Gear!

Join the
Discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere on the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

The Miami Herald uses Facebook's commenting system. You need to log in with a Facebook account in order to comment. If you have questions about commenting with your Facebook account, click here.

Have a news tip? You can send it anonymously. Click here to send us your tip - or - consider joining the Public Insight Network and become a source for The Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald.

Hide Comments

This affects comments on all stories.

Cancel OK

  • Videos

  • Quick Job Search

Enter Keyword(s) Enter City Select a State Select a Category