Spurs re-sign Williams

[purple_blaze_98]

Nearly two months to the day after the Spurs waived him, Marcus Williams is back in the NBA with ... the Spurs.

The Spurs have agreed to terms -- again -- with their 2007 second-round pick, a source close to the negotations said Wednesday night.

The Spurs waived Williams in October, seven months after drafting him. He wound up in with the Austin Toros of the NBA's Developmenal League, where he averaged 18.1 points in nine games. The 6-foot-7 forward will take the 15th and final roster spot for the Spurs, who will likely use Williams as an insurance policy while Manu Ginobili is on the shelf with a sprained left finger.

Williams will sign a non-guaranteed deal for the league minimum, the source said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Williams, the former University of Arizona standout, was spotted on the floor at the AT&T Center tonight, working out before tipoff against the Bulls.

http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/courtside/archives/2007/12/jeff_mcdonald_s_1.html

[ChumpDumper]

McDonald gets some much-needed rep points for that one.

[picnroll]

I assume this mean adios Washington, at least from the Spurs roster?

[ChumpDumper]

I assume this mean adios Washington, at least from the Spurs roster?He has already been reassigned to the Toros.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

:tu
It'll pay off in the future.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Williams, the former University of Arizona standout, was spotted on the floor at the AT&T Center tonight, working out before tipoff against the Bulls.

You're welcome.

[picnroll]

He has already been reassigned to the Toros.
But he was still on the Spurs roster. If they signed Williams isn't that 16 players without cutting Washington?

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

But he was still on the Spurs roster. If they signed Williams isn't that 16 players without cutting Washington?
15

[ChumpDumper]

This puts Austin at the front of the line for picking up someone from the available player pool. I doubt the call-up lasts long enough for that to matter unless they really had an eye on picking up someone (Kris Lang?).

[Bruno]

Spurs are $27,591 under the Luxury tax.

In two weeks, teams could only sign players for ten days contract or contract guaranteed for the rest of the season. A ten days contract cost $45K against the tax and put Spurs over the threshold.

It's possible that Spurs sign Williams to waive him in 6 days (6 days is the max length of the contract that would keep Spurs under the tax). In any case, Spurs couldn't have sign a player to a ten days contract without going over the luxury tax.

Other solutions are a trade or Washington waived.

[ShoogarBear]

That sound you just heard was timvp's choad bloading.

Can't wait to hear him explain this. :hungry:

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Other solutions are a trade or Washington waived.

Please Lord let us keep Darius and get rid of Elson.

[Bruno]

Please Lord let us keep Darius and get rid of Elson.

Elson contract is very friendly to trade because he is expiring and front-loaded. Spurs have paid 80% of his salary at the start of the season. If a team get Elson right now, he would cost very few money.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Are there any teams under the salary cap as of now?

[Bruno]

I really think that what will happen is Willliams waived just after the Memphis game on December 30th.
Spurs had some financial flexibility that would have been lost in two weeks. With Manu out and Barry injured, an extra swingman is welcome. The reason why they have chosen Williams is because he knows the system. It could have been Langford but he is injured.
We will see but I bet on that scenario.

[ChumpDumper]

I don't think this is a long term signing unless Marcus blows up, so no further moves would be necessary.

I guess we learned that Marcus was at worst the third best player in the December 16 workout.

[loveforthegame]

Interesting. I guess you can always use insurance but for 3 games?

[ChumpDumper]

Bruno summed it up nicely. If the Spurs wanted to audition someone, now is the best time to do it without going over the tax threshold.

[Spurs Brazil]

Update from McDonald

EDIT: Not only is Williams on the roster for tonight's game, he is active. Ginobili is inactive.

[Tek_XX]

Spurs should put him out there tonight just to see if he can do anything.

[Tek_XX]

Pops in a good mood.

[ashbeeigh]

I was wondering who that extra guy was. Thank God for Spurstalk.

[Holt's Cat]

I thought that was Williams coming off the bench during the time out.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

I hope the Spurs blow them out so we can see him :).

[ducks]

he got a block tonight

[remingtonbo2001]

he got a block tonight
:clap ....Good Job!

Want a Cookie?

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

http://www.designsbybel.com/CookieMonster2.jpg

[mikekim]

so...how long are they expecting manu to be out?

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

I'd say 2 more games at the very most.

[mikekim]

I'd say 2 more games at the very most.

dammit...my fantasy team is screwed this week. already have some injuries.

but the spurs will be better off for it. maybe i should pick up udoka, haha

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

maybe i should pick up udoka, haha
:hat He WON'T disappoint.

[AFBlue]

I've always maintained that this kid could play and that his SL play, while troubling, wasn't the whole story with him.

I'm sure he won't be a serious rotation guy for the Spurs at this point, and not really sure that he'll be kept on as the 15th roster spot this season...but it shows they are committed to him in the long-term that they felt like he was their first option to sign and not some out-of-work vet or other d-leaguer.

Hope he shows enough in this short trip up to the show to make the Spurs keep an eye on him.

[ChumpDumper]

but it shows they are committed to him in the long-term that they felt like he was their first option to sign and not some out-of-work vet or other d-leaguer.He might have been their third option.


Hope he shows enough in this short trip up to the show to make the Spurs keep an eye on him.It will be interesting to see who the Toros pick to replace him, if anyone.

[AFBlue]

He might have been their third option.
.

Richardson is one, but who might have been the other?

[ChumpDumper]

Langford.

[timvp]

That sound you just heard was timvp's choad bloading.

Can't wait to hear him explain this. :hungry::lol

I would explain what I think the reasoning but Bruno stole my thunder:


I really think that what will happen is Willliams waived just after the Memphis game on December 30th.
Spurs had some financial flexibility that would have been lost in two weeks. With Manu out and Barry injured, an extra swingman is welcome. The reason why they have chosen Williams is because he knows the system. It could have been Langford but he is injured.
We will see but I bet on that scenario.

That was almost word for word what I told Kori. If the Spurs were going to use that ~$30K they had available under the luxury tax threshold, this was the only way to use it. The Spurs don't have room for a 10-day contract and contracts become guaranteed soon so that ~$30K would have disappeared if the Spurs hadn't done this.

My first reaction was that Williams was a lazy pick on the Spurs part. Even the most ardent of Williams backers would agree that Williams wasn't the best swingman prospect in the D-League. However, with the limited time the player will be here, Williams made the most sense because he already knows the system. I'd imagine Langford would have been the one if he were healthy at the moment.

I'd be utterly shocked if Williams is kept the whole season because to do so the Spurs would basically have to pay in the neighborhood of $3M. If the Spurs pay $3M for Marcus Williams I'd have to seriously be concerned for Peter Holt's health.

The only other scenarios are if Washington is waived or Mahinmi is traded. I think there's a chance that the Spurs waive Washington and keep Williams ... but not a very high chance. Trading Mahinmi or anyone else at this point doesn't make a lot of sense.

This looks like a move that was planned far in advance. Williams gets three games at home in San Antonio and then returns to Austin right as they start a four game home stand. During this week at home, the Spurs should be able to get in a couple of light practices. If Williams wows during a practice or a game, perhaps the Spurs look at what they can do to keep him. If not the Spurs can waive him and he can be picked right back up by Austin.



P.S.

Looking at Williams' jumper tonight, he should spend however long he can with Chip before going back to Austin. He almost dislocated the upper half of his body on that 16-footer.

[T Park]

Demarr friggen Johnson is down there, and they chose this guy.

Nice job RC.

[ChumpDumper]

The only thing DerMarr has done better in Austin is shoot three pointers. Granted that could be enough to recommend him over Williams, but it's not that much.

[T Park]

Personally, Demarr is a better defender, as you've illustrated in your game reports, and he shoots threes well.

Demarr is also the long sought after long three.

Oh well......

[ChumpDumper]

Actually they defend in much the same manner, playing the lanes better than manning up. DerMarr's extra length may help in that respect.

DerMarr is far and away the better shooter. Marcus is more active on the boards and really good leading or finishing the break. I could see the Spurs bringing up either one for what I think is going to be a short stay, but Marcus does have more experience with the system and other players which might have been taken into consideration.

[BeerIsGood!]

This is much ado about nothing. The Spurs wanted to use the extra very short term flexibility to get another look at the guy they used an early 2nd rounder on. That's all there is to it.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Hopefully we try and give him some decent minutes next year. I really don't want to give up on this guy.

[Bruno]

It could sound strange but I think that Spurs signing Williams is a good sign for Washington.
Knowing that Manu was out and Barry injured, Spurs decided to sign Williams instead of calling back Washington who could have played SG against Chicago small backcourt.
You had to wonder why Spurs made this choice. The reason that makes the most sense is that Spurs didn't want to waste one of the 3 times Washington could be send in D-League. If Spurs plan was to waive Washington before his contract became guaranteed in 2 weeks, they wouldn't care about calling him back from D-League. So either Spurs haven't decided whether to keep him or not or they have still decided to keep him.

It's possible that Spurs aren't even able to keep Williams for the Memphis game without going over the tax because I think that during the 48 hours waiver period, the player is still paid by the waiving team. Even if Spurs waive Williams soon, I won't feel sorry for him. I'm quite sure Spurs have told him that he would be waived in less than one week if it was their plan. At the end, it will be something positive for Williams : first nba minutes and some money to improve his low D-League salary.

BTW, with 24 blocks per 48min, Williams is the best shotblocker of the nba history. :smokin

[Quasar]

with 24 blocks per 48min, Williams is the best shotblocker of the nba history. :smokin

:D per 48min stats should probably only be considered for people having played at least 12 mins

[Mr. Body]

Waiving Washington doesn't make any sense at all. Sure, he hasn't done well in his NBA games, but that's no reason to give up on him yet. Just take him slow, let him learn the system through the Toros, call him up later in the year and work him out in some relatively meaningless games. If he's a hard worker in the meantime, he'll be fine, and he's by no means expensive.

[timvp]

It's possible that Spurs aren't even able to keep Williams for the Memphis game without going over the tax because I think that during the 48 hours waiver period, the player is still paid by the waiving team. Even if Spurs waive Williams soon, I won't feel sorry for him. I'm quite sure Spurs have told him that he would be waived in less than one week if it was their plan. At the end, it will be something positive for Williams : first nba minutes and some money to improve his low D-League salary.

BTW, with 24 blocks per 48min, Williams is the best shotblocker of the nba history. :smokinIf Williams doesn't play again this season, his rookie year will resemble (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/bowenbr01.html) a player who didn't turn out half bad.

:smokin



P.S.

Hey Bruno do you think there's any chance that the numbers are wrong? The Spurs are known for having some sneaky salary cap numbers. Perhaps the Spurs have more money than we all think. It wouldn't be the first time the Spurs tricked everyone.

However, wouldn't Williams have cost less in terms of the luxury tax if they would have never cut him due to him being a second round pick? But maybe the Spurs had ~60 games worth of minimum salary cap room and the plan with Williams was to send him down and then take a pick from all D-Leaguers at the end of December. That would explain the workout the Spurs had with multiple D-Leaguers and why Jeremy Richardson was at a game.

Hmmm ... it's all starting to make sense now . . .

[ChumpDumper]

It's entirely possible the Spurs have more money than we think available to them, especially since we are talking about a relatively small amount. I'm assumnig they had the big swingman tryout for two reasons -- Manu had just been injured and they need some youth for next season. Manu's getting worse and Barry's initial injury made them pull the trigger on the best player from that workout available. We'll hav to wait and see how long they keep Marcus to give us a hint at their intentions.

[Bruno]

do you think there's any chance that the numbers are wrong? The Spurs are known for having some sneaky salary cap numbers. Perhaps the Spurs have more money than we all think. It wouldn't be the first time the Spurs tricked everyone.

The $27,591 figure come from espn. They have some source at the NBA front office and I think that the number come from these sources. I doubt that this number isn't accurate.



However, wouldn't Williams have cost less in terms of the luxury tax if they would have never cut him due to him being a second round pick? But maybe the Spurs had ~60 games worth of minimum salary cap room and the plan with Williams was to send him down and then take a pick from all D-Leaguers at the end of December. That would explain the workout the Spurs had with multiple D-Leaguers and why Jeremy Richardson was at a game.

Hmmm ... it's all starting to make sense now . . .

A second round pick cost less towards the luxury tax than a rookie FA sign to a min contract.
The second round pick cost for his salary ($427K) against the luxury tax while the rookie FA count for the min salary of a third year player ($771K).
If Spurs keep Williams until the end of the season, he will cost for $508K against the luxury tax.

And remember last year, Spurs have signed James White one week after he was waived. They signed him as a FA instead of picking from waivers. Had Spurs pick him from waivers, White would have cost less against the luxury tax and at the end of the season Spurs would have been just below the luxury tax instead of $200K over. Signing White as a FA instead of picking him from waivers has cost more than $2M to Spurs. :spin

[tomcat]

williams would be a fa signing now because he was waived and not signed as a second rd pick.