Golden State, Marcus Williams cut

[coopdogg3]

I didn't see it posted, but just thought it might be interesting.

With George Hill playing some good ball, I can't imagine the Spurs even looking at him. But he might be available next year, cheap, as a 3rd string PG.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3967710

Associated Press

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Golden State Warriors released seldom-used guard Marcus Williams on Tuesday.

Williams played in nine games with the Warriors, averaging 1.3 points and 1.4 assists after Golden State acquired him in a summer trade with New Jersey.

The club hoped he would win their starting point guard job, but the former first-round pick never gained the favor of coach Don Nelson.

Williams hadn't played in a game since Jan. 25.


Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press

[Ditty]

i always thought this was the best guy that could play with the spurs

[Steve-O-Matic]

Marcus Williams is absolutely horrendous. There's a better chance of the Spurs signing Johnny Moore out of retirement then picking up this spare.

[coopdogg3]

Here's what Hollinger says about him:

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/players/hollinger?playerId=3039&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnba %2fplayers%2fhollinger%3fplayerId%3d3039



2007-08 season: Williams is what I call a basketball narcissist: He keeps calling his number despite horrid percentages and bushels of turnovers. If he ever decides to chill out and become an actual point guard there's enough talent here to turn into a real player, but who knows if the light bulb will ever come on.

It's hard to overstate how harmful Williams' me-first offensive tendencies are. He used a ton of possessions and used them horribly, ranking in the top third of point guards in usage rate but sporting the third worst turnover ratio at his position and a sub-50 true shooting percentage. He ranked 58th out of 71 points guards in pure point rating, even though, theoretically, he's supposed to be a natural point guard.

About the only positives were his improvement to 38.0 percent on 3-pointers, which would make him a useful spot-up guy if he'd stop trying to drive 1-on-5 so much, and the sixth best rebound rate among point guards.

Scouting report: Offense isn't Williams' only problem. He was out of shape and was routinely blistered by opposing point guards last season, which is why 38-year-old Darrell Armstrong was able to eat into his minutes even though he was about the only player in captivity who made worse decisions than Williams at the point. New Jersey was phenomenally bad on D with Williams playing, giving up 9.0 points more per 48 minutes than with him off the court.

A left-hander with a great feel for the game, Williams actually could be pretty good if he decided to be a pass-first player. Scouts compared him to Mark Jackson coming out of college -- yes, seriously -- and if he gets in shape and gets his head on straight, there's still an opportunity for that caliber of player to come out. But he's a poor finisher and only a middling shooter, so if he's trying to score 20 a night it's not gonna work.

2008-09 outlook: The Nets traded Williams to Golden State for a lottery-protected -- heck, lottery embalmed -- first round pick that might not even be a first when all is said and done and likely won't be theirs for at least a few years.

He'll begin the year with the backup point guard job, just as he did in New Jersey a year ago, but I don't expect Don Nelson to be any more tolerant of Williams' selfish play than Lawrence Frank was. If he can get in shape and focus on passing he'll have a nice year, especially since Monta Ellis will be out of the lineup at the start of the season; otherwise he might find himself again kicked to the curb for a veteran retread with a fraction of his talent.

Most similar at age: Keyon Dooling

[NewJerSpur]

You wouldn't happen to be the same Steve-O-Matic from the Seahawks' board per chance?

[NewJerSpur]

He's got a decent jumper, but wasn't he involved in some thievery back in college? Very un-Spur-like....then again, we did pick up Mighty Mouse who was also a shoot-first lefty PG who'd dabbled in some illegal activity of his own. Maybe in another 10 years if he's still in the league, who knows.

[alchemist]

the Spurs really should take a look at Pargo this upcoming summer. The Hornets miss him a ton.

[coopdogg3]

Don't forget about Spanoulis or however you spell his name. I hear he's better than Steve Nash. If we could somehow pry him from Greece.

[ChumpDumper]

He got beat out by CJ Watson on a Don Nelson team.

[/thread]

[exstatic]

the Spurs really should take a look at Pargo this upcoming summer. The Hornets miss him a ton.

They looked hard at him last summer. His salary demands just didn't fit the backup PG slot, let alone the third spot next year.