NBA Rumors 2011: Earl Watson Leaning Towards Signing With The Atlanta Hawks, According To A Report

According to a report by Alex Kennedy of Hoopsworld, free agent point guard Earl Watson is leaning towards signing a free agent contract with the Atlanta Hawks.

Atlanta is in need of depth at the point guard position due to the injury to Kirk Hinrich and the pending free agency of Jamal Crawford. Jeff Teague is currently the only point guard on the Hawks roster. The parallels are their for Watson who played for Seattle during Rick Sund's tenure as GM of the Sonics.

Watson played in 80 games with the Utah Jazz last season playing just under 20 minutes per game. He finished with averages of 4.3 points and 3.5 assists per game. He is 32 years old and a 10 year veteran of the NBA. His best season probably came during the 2007-08 season when he averaged 10.7 points and 6.8 assists per game for Seattle.

UPDATE

According to Utah Jazz play-by-play man David Locke, Watson hasn't committed to any team yet although he has been in contact with several teams. He is waiting to hear from the Jazz before he does anything.

Just communicated with Earl Watson - "says he is sitting patient until I hear from the jazz at this point. Other teams are pushing hard."

UPDATE #2

From Alex Kennedy at HoopsWorld regarding Earl Watson:

Earl Watson was leaning toward signing with the Atlanta Hawks, but now it appears the Utah Jazz are still in the mix. Watson may decide to re-sign with Utah because they're willing to offer him a two-year deal.

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