Unless Memphis just blows him out of the water with a contract offer to stay (which is unlikely), I think he'll be our PG next year. Just look at the situation -- The Knick obviously like him, they had a trade in place to acquire this guy for Nate until Nate nixed the deal. And I don't think they've forgotten about him, not by longshot...I'm glad Donnie & Mike had interest, there's definitely a lot to like here. He's a well-put-together 6'3" 205 lbs, only 24 years old (a young 24 too - DOB 12/1985), a very good passer that knows exactly how to deliver the ball & get everyone involved, doesn't appear overly quick at first glance but he's quick enough when he needs to be, and even though his offensive numbers don't look too good in the league so far as far a shooting percentages and what not (which can easily look skewed when you don't get enough playing time, which he hasn't - not to mention that I kinda like that they're not too high - he and his agent won't be able to use his limited numbers as a negotiating tactic & that should help us when & if we decide to offer him a contract -- the proof isn't there but I think he's a much better player than his numbers indicate anyway), I think that he's a capable offensive player when the situation dictates -- he can finish well at the rim with a strong left hand, has a fine looking jumpshot and he can go get his own offense when situations break down (a neccessity as far as I'm concerned - I don't care for a PG who can't score the ball himself when need be. Williams can). Plays very poised & under control too, never appears to panic out there - anytime I've ever watched this kid play any kind of extended minutes, even going back to his days at U-Conn, he's always looked very in control of his team. Not a star defensively, but who exactly is now a days at the point? His above average, pure PG skills far outweigh any perceived negatives in my opinion..
Out of some of the cost effective FA PGs that'll be out there that we may be thinking about (CJ Watson, our own Sergio Rodriguez, etc..), Williams may be the best buy. Watson's putting up good numbers in semi-limited minutes this year for GS and is gonna look to get paid, I like Sergio (I'd espcially like him if we had some top offensive players here and guys that can get out and run -- that's when you'll see Sergio Rodriguez at his best) but not for almost $3 million --- I acually think Marcus Williams is the most realistic target for us given our budget constraints. Pound for pound, I actually think he's a better player than Rodriguez, and he should come for about half the money, probably even less. Saw a replay of the Memphis/Celtics game from last night --- Memphis was all over Boston the whole game and they didn't lose a beat when Williams came in for Conley and ran that team to perfection playing basically the entire 2nd half in the blowout win. The Celtics never got themselves back in that game...Provided we can't upgrade the point through either FA or the draft, Marcus Williams backed up by Toney Douglas wouldn't be terrible fellas. I think that'd be an inexpensive, well-balanced PG tandem - two young guys that are more than serviceable right now with room to improve & get even better. And for us, the price is right..Gun to my head, I think Marcus Williams will be in a Knicks uniform next year. He just makes too much sense for us..
3/11/2010 11:47 AM
