timvp
09-29-2007, 11:37 PM
Spurs will bring Williams to camp
Jeff McDonald
San Antonio Express-News
Second-round pick Marcus Williams will enter Spurs training camp this week the proud recipient of a new NBA contract. What happens next, the team says, will be in part up to him.
The Spurs signed Williams on Saturday, tidying up the last bit of outstanding business before the opening of camp on Tuesday. He will occupy the team's 15th and final roster spot heading into the preseason.
"He will have an opportunity to come into camp and take advantage of some of his skills," Spurs general manager R.C. Buford said.
"We hope his hard work can pay off and make him a player who might make it in the league some day."
Terms of Williams' deal were not disclosed. Neither were the Spurs' immediate plans for him.
One thing is for certain: Williams, a 6-foot-7 swingman out of Arizona, has plenty of work to do if he aims to stick around San Antonio this season.
It's quite possible that Williams, the 33rd pick in this year's NBA draft, could be assigned to the Austin Toros, the Spurs' affiliate in the NBDL.
That would allow Williams to spend a season learning the Spurs' system. It would also provide him with ample opportunity to continue his work with assistant coach Chip Engelland, the shooting guru who spent the summer helping Williams remake his wayward jump shot.
The Spurs aren't ruling out any scenarios regarding where Williams might be a month from now. They want to see how Williams, 20, handles his first NBA training camp before deciding on his first-year fate.
"We don't want to draw any conclusions based on incomplete information," Buford said.
Blessed with a 7-foot-wingspan, Williams' defensive skills appear to be ahead of his offensive skills at this point.
He averaged 14.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game in two seasons at Arizona, but is coming off a bit of a rough summer.
Williams averaged just 3.6 points and shot 25 percent from the field in five NBA summer league games in Las Vegas. He fared a little better at the Rocky Mountain Revue in Salt Lake City, averaging 7.6 points and shooting 31.7 percent in five games there.
The Spurs, however, say they put less stock in Williams' summer-league struggles and more stock in how he has fared in a series of workouts since.
"He's been working out here since the day we drafted him," Buford said. "We saw enough improvement in his overall game to warrant giving him an opportunity."
It will now be Williams' job to make the most of it.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA093007.03C.State.BKN.Spurs.Williams.en.2df2621 .html
Jeff McDonald
San Antonio Express-News
Second-round pick Marcus Williams will enter Spurs training camp this week the proud recipient of a new NBA contract. What happens next, the team says, will be in part up to him.
The Spurs signed Williams on Saturday, tidying up the last bit of outstanding business before the opening of camp on Tuesday. He will occupy the team's 15th and final roster spot heading into the preseason.
"He will have an opportunity to come into camp and take advantage of some of his skills," Spurs general manager R.C. Buford said.
"We hope his hard work can pay off and make him a player who might make it in the league some day."
Terms of Williams' deal were not disclosed. Neither were the Spurs' immediate plans for him.
One thing is for certain: Williams, a 6-foot-7 swingman out of Arizona, has plenty of work to do if he aims to stick around San Antonio this season.
It's quite possible that Williams, the 33rd pick in this year's NBA draft, could be assigned to the Austin Toros, the Spurs' affiliate in the NBDL.
That would allow Williams to spend a season learning the Spurs' system. It would also provide him with ample opportunity to continue his work with assistant coach Chip Engelland, the shooting guru who spent the summer helping Williams remake his wayward jump shot.
The Spurs aren't ruling out any scenarios regarding where Williams might be a month from now. They want to see how Williams, 20, handles his first NBA training camp before deciding on his first-year fate.
"We don't want to draw any conclusions based on incomplete information," Buford said.
Blessed with a 7-foot-wingspan, Williams' defensive skills appear to be ahead of his offensive skills at this point.
He averaged 14.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game in two seasons at Arizona, but is coming off a bit of a rough summer.
Williams averaged just 3.6 points and shot 25 percent from the field in five NBA summer league games in Las Vegas. He fared a little better at the Rocky Mountain Revue in Salt Lake City, averaging 7.6 points and shooting 31.7 percent in five games there.
The Spurs, however, say they put less stock in Williams' summer-league struggles and more stock in how he has fared in a series of workouts since.
"He's been working out here since the day we drafted him," Buford said. "We saw enough improvement in his overall game to warrant giving him an opportunity."
It will now be Williams' job to make the most of it.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA093007.03C.State.BKN.Spurs.Williams.en.2df2621 .html