As Lou Williams opts out, what will Sixers do?
Lou Williams has opted out of the final year of his contract with the Sixers, making him an unrestricted free agent. What happens with him and the Sixers could have a snowball effect on other moves.
As Lou Williams opts out, what will Sixers do?
Bob Cooney
Lou Williams wants to be playing for the 76ers this upcoming season. President Rod Thorn and coach Doug Collins want the 6-1 guard to be back in his normal role as scoring guard off the bench.
But Williams also wants to see how much interest there is in him throughout the league and what kind of contract might be offered to him by other teams. It is the reason he has decided to opt out of his final contract year with the Sixers, a year in which he was scheduled to make $6.39 million, the final year of a five-year, $25 million deal.
The 6-1 guard has spent each of his seven seasons with the Sixers, mostly in a reserve role, starting just 38 of his 455 regular season games. He led the team in scoring this past season with 14.9 points a game (a career high), becoming the first player since Dell Curry in '93-94 with the Charlotte Hornets to be the team’s top scorer despite not starting a game. For his career Williams, 25, has averaged 11.3 points on 42.1 percent shooting.
There is little doubt the Sixers would want to keep the diminutive guard as scoring was a problem most of last season and losing the leading scorer would certainly hurt. Plus, coach Doug Collins is a big fan of having scoring punch coming off of his bench, a big advantage for his team this past season.
“We’d like to sign him, if at all possible,” said Thorn. “He wants to test the waters. To become an unrestricted free agent doesn’t happen often, maybe once or twice in a career. He wants to see what’s out there. He has said he wants to stay with us, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens.”
A league source said that the interest in Williams throughout the league is “significant” and that a contract to land him could be “in the Thaddeus Young range.” Before this past season Young signed a 5-year deal worth close to $43 million.
“It’s impossible to gauge (how much a team would be willing to pay) because there is are so many teams who have money and Lou certainly is a good player,” said Thorn. "The natural inclination is for teams who have money to spend some of it, of course. The last couple of years there are a lot of teams that have gotten way under the salary cap and I’m sure that Lou will get some interest from teams.”
The Williams situation is just one of many that are facing the team. Starting center Spencer Hawes is an unrestricted free agent and, as the league source said, “There are a lot of teams interested in him. Who wouldn’t be? He’s a big man who can do a lot of things and is only 24 years-old.” Several sources have said Hawes could garner anywhere from $5 to $7 million a season.
The team also needs to decide whether they will amnesty the contract of Elton Brand, who is scheduled to make $18.16 million next season. The team would pay Brand that money, but it would come off of their salary cap. Doing this seems to be a no-brainer, if the new ownership group is OK with writing that check. If they do amnesty Brand, and can’t sign Williams and/or Hawes, that would free some money, perhaps allowing the team to go after a coveted free agent (maybe Orlando’s Ryan Anderson, a restricted free agent).
They would like to keep Temple product Lavoy Allen, whose one-year rookie deal is up. Allen’s play in the playoffs probably upped his price range to about $2 million a season. The Sixers, already short on strong, big men, can ill afford to lose Allen.
Those decisions don’t even include the all important draft, which will take place on June 28. The Sixers will have picks at the 15th, 45th and 54th spot. They have stated their want being a big, athletic type, but that may hinder on whether they feel Williams is likely to return. If they feel he isn’t, do they target a scoring guard with the 15th pick (Washington’s Terrence Ross or Duke’s Austin Rivers)?
“We can make contact (with Williams) on the first (of July),” said Thorn. “We certainly would like to who know what’s going to happen out there, but at the same time you’ve got to be cognizant of your salary cap in moving forward.”
Meant to add re. Hawes, that when the spirit moves him, he can indeed play some D and block shots. Obviously an inconsistent (re frustrating!) player.
Whether Vucevic (with what appears to be a similar skill set) can tap into his "inner beast" remains to be seen. So far, the signs aren't encouraging, but he's young as well.— FishFryFrank
IN THIS ORDER! 1. Trade Turner for Ariza draft night, 2. draft Perry jones, 3. restructure brand, 4.sign jr smith, Lou, lavoy. . 4a. Sign Spencer to the 1 yr mle. 5. Send Thad to the summer leagues working on posting up 2's and 3's off of screen roll. And stretching out 4's on the pick and pop. And perry jones SCORING without a play being called for him. Scoring off of rebounds, steals and sprinting the floor. 6. Complete the roster. 7. Shut iguodala down for training camp, pre season, and 15 regular season games. Ariza as the perimeter defender. Starting Thad at the 3.(Olympics) a total of 3 months rest. 8. Shut brand down for 25 games (500 j's made daily) to start perry at the 4. After the NCAA tournament (a regular college season) shut perry down until the playoffs (500 j's made daily) mid march until the playoffs it's lavoy and niks time. Jrue, jr (shooter), iguodala, Brand(restructure), Hawes(mle), Lou(7-7.5), Ariza(big wing defender, CHAMPION), Thad, perry (athletic big), lavoy, Nik, Jodie. battie as 13 on the roster. All holes FILLED! AND UNDER THE CAP!— combocancer1975- Let him walk and sign a guy like Landry Fields.— beegal99
- Re-signing Lou Will is a must. But if they team loses out on him I suggest they take a run on a cheaper value player like Gerald Green. The dude hasbeen humbled down in the D-league, improved his game and would be a great bench scorer for the money. No need to go after these overhyped wing players coming out in this draft. Green is more athletic than them all, is still young and has NBA experience. This would be a smart, frugal move.
— MrMiles1
Bob Cooney has been at the Daily News for more than 20 years, working in the sports department for the past 15. This is his third season on the Sixers beat. He has covered just about everything, but mostly college basketball, where he was the La Salle beat writer for six seasons. E-mail Bob at cooneyb@phillynews.com and follow him on Twitter.
