Absolutely give him a 20 game flyer. Marcus Williams just turned 23 a few months ago. He's younger than some players coming out of the draft. I thought he played very well until he got hurt in NJ and more than 1 player this year has been on Don Nelson's hit list.
Remeber as a 20 year old junior he averaged 12.3 points, 8.6 assists, and shot 86% from the free throw line
In the 2006 NCAA tourney, he averaged 20 points 8.8 assists while shooting 52% from the field, 56% from three-point range, and 96% from the free throw line. Williams scored a career-high 26 points in a memorable against Washington
Who else are we trying out for a 20 game stretch--this is like a free draft pick/audition at his age. If he doesnt play well you dont have the 2 other years guaranteed. If he plays well you take him back on the cheap with teams options set up
Downside--absolutely nothing
Upside--we find a good solid PG for our team who is still very young
Questions? I think this one is a no brainer. I remember Colangelo trying everything to get an extra pick to get him in that Raptor war room piece. Colangelo was able to get a lot of players Dantoni thrived with--cant be that bad of an idea--but then most people know more than Colangelo
What he needs to do is get back to his grassroots of being a player who looks to principally past first. I think he started looking for his own shot that got in the way of his excellent dishing skills he displayed more on the collegiate level than in the pros. He would have an excellent opportunity here to be a distributor and still has the ability to stroke the 3 ball and penetrate. AHe just has to balance his game more. Nice opportunity for both him and the Knicks to take a hard look at him IMHO.
[Edited by - BRIGGS on 03-10-2009 02:38 AM]
3/10/2009 9:32 AM
