Jay Williams Working Out for Houston : UPDATE - He's coming for a 2nd visit

i dont think williams is going thru all this trouble of trying to make a comeback just to be a 14th or 15th guy in the rotation.

he is going to want to play and we dont have the space for him. even based on his rookie #'s (9pts/5 ass/39%fg), he would still have alot of competition for minutes with sura, james and anderson.

i think the whole issue is predicated on whether or not he would even be able to play pro ball again. IF he could play at a level similar to his rookie year and IF his body could hold up thru a whole season than he is definately worth a shot, but again, i dont think he would get alot of minutes on the rockets (at least this season).

he may make a team's roster, but after what happened to him i dont expect him to be anything like he was. i honestly dont think he will ever play again, but i hope he can prove me wrong.

 

He has to be better than what we already have in multiple spots in order for JVG to sign him, and he probably hasn't seen that. So I'll go with him since he knows better than we do, I mean why else would he bring him in if he wasn't interested. I think if we don't end up signing him, there's a good reason.

Damn Dukies.

 

The BIG difference is that they have tradable expiring contracts which are valuable. If we cut them we can't trade them, we can only pay them. If JWill doesn't pan out we only have an empty bag since he would have no trade value on a minimum contract.

On second thought this whole thread is probably moot.

 

i am all for signing him whatever we can give him. even if he doesn't have the explosiveness he would instantly be the best passer on the team. I dont care when people say we have 8 guards on the roster. Reality is Norris and Ward shouldn't be counted because the only way they get playing time is in the event of a catastrophic injury.

In reality after this season the only guards left are Sura and James and both are on the wrong side of 30. If we can get williams give him a year to play into shape we could end up next year with a backcourt of Head, Williams, V-Span all working the point. that could be a nice rotation expecially with Williams and V-Span being able to play both guard spots.

 

If we cut Ward to make room for JWill, we still pay Ward and add 600k for JWill. Sure, if somebody signs Ward we save $4,000,000 less the veterans' minimum for somebody with Ward's tennure, but that's a lotta money. I think the way we get rid of Ward/Moochie/Baker is to sign and trade them.

As for actually having JWill, he used to be a poor man's Steve Francis. Now he's a poor man's Steve Francis with Bobby Hurley's luck. I really don't want us to pay **** for JWill. If we get him, let's say that if you do well and get healthy then will sit down with your agent and re-negotiate a deal. Above that, I am flat-out against JWill coming to the Rockets.

 

Just like <i>Nat'l Lampoon's Christmas Vacation</i>... "I'll give you a shiny quarter if you rub my corns..."

 

Speed Bump?

 

I would deffinitely take a shot with Jay. Who knows how long Sura will last before he gets injured, so having a better guard than ward and mooch is something positive.

 

Does this guy have a great publicist/PR guy, or what?

I remember reading about him on the back page of The Sporting News a couple months ago, and he's been breaking headlines ever since.

Roster space. Money. 2 things the Rockets DON'T have. Yet he's still making headlines and getting fans wondering about his status.

 

jay will wasn't any good even when he was healthy.

and i dont want dick vitale to become a big fan of the rockets to tell you the truth.

i can already see him calling out jvg for not playing his boy.

 

Looks like we might have a chance at Jay Will:

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/12650009.htm

Heat talks Blake trade

Herald Staff and Wire Reports

The Heat and Washington Wizards have held preliminary discussions about a sign-and-trade for Wizards restricted free agent point guard Steve Blake.

Such a scenario would eliminate the need for Miami to wait a week to see if the Wizards would match a Heat offer. Miami could slot Blake into a $1.9 million trade exception acquired last season in a deal with Charlotte.

But the teams have not agreed to a deal, and the Heat continues to consider other backup point guard options, including free agent Gary Payton.

 

I think people are thinking short term with this kind of move. In reality Williams will be played like a rookie, working his way back into shape and possilby going to the NBDL since he only has 1 year game experience.

The benefit to the rockets comes next year when Head, Sura, and James are the only guards on the roster that have gaurunteed spots. Sura and James will be on the wrong side of 30. Head is still a rookie. would be a great time to come in and compete.

 

while his injury situation is scary (obviously), he's worth a shot. throw him the min., let him practice and work his a$$ off, and let's see what he can bring. there's no doubt the talent's there, he just needs time (and luck, and hopefully he had an excellent surgeon).

here's to hoping for the best.

 

If JVG and CD think he's worth the risk, I hope we can get it done. If he can bring 90% of his former game, he becomes a great long-term investment for us.

 

Ok, we know everyone's opinion on whether the Rockets should give him a chance....

Does anyone have any knowledge regarding how his workout went?

 

keep an eye on the blog...
http://www.nba.com/blog/blog11.html

 

i'd drop $1 for one...

 

I think that the majority of the fans that want to sign JWilliams are intrigued
by the possibility of signing a former #2 pick who is only 24yrs old for
practically nothing. Obviously CD or JVG or whoever is calling the shots has got
to also be intrigued in that he was giving a chance to show what he is
bringing to the table. If they think he is worth the gamble then by all means
sign him, but i dont think they should cut Ward,Moochie,or Baker. Everyone
knows that expiring contracts are blue chip contracts that allow you to
alter the your team in midseason according to your needs. I would much rather
them cut Bowen who I think the majority of us can agree was a contract done
in haste especially now that we've signed Swift and Baxter who are both much
better than Bowen.


Can you imagine:
McGrady+Yao+Swift+JWilliams


P.S. I'm also Intrigued!

 

Having now read it, I am not encouraged in his ability to return to the court. The guy couldn't even pick up his own foot six months ago (IIRC). His trainer even concluded that he wouldn't make it back early on in the rehab. He may be a really good basketball player one day, but you could be that and never play one minute in the NBA.

If he were 80%, with potential for 90% of his old self, wouldn't you think that there would be one team out there willing to sign him, effective yesterday? He's cheap, real cheap, and yet not one team has made him an offer. I haven't seen him play so I'm just speculating here. It would seem to me that his rehab, though showing improvement, even extraordinary improvement, has fallen well short of the condition (100% basic motor skills being the minimum requirement) needed to play in the NBA.

I'm all for him making it back to the court and will cheer for him to get there. However, I'm of the mentality that you do not sell a bird in the hand on the cheap (expiring contracts) for a potential bird that might be in that bush over there...

It's a shame, really it is. If he recovers completely, it could be a lot of fun to watch him play a role on a good team. I am just pessimistic enough to discount the probability to less than 10% that he'll ever play the most demanding of all professional sports (IMHO).

Wow, does my post count as a blog?

 

Even at 90%, could Williams play the solid D we need and try to keep up and stay in front of the quicker guards in the league now? I would have to think he would have to sacrifice his O or D at times to cover his man. Jay was never a speed freak to the best of my knowledge. He was just a great fundamental team player who did everything the right Duke way. At 100% he didn't even have close to the athletisism of a Stevie Franchise and others in the league.

If we want to play a slow half court, pass it in and back out, Hakeem style offense, i could see him fitting in. But running with McGrady and company, i don't see it as a good fit. Then again, maybe if Mcgrady and Yao are on the bench, we could play a slow down type offense with Deke passing in and out and DA at the SG for a change of pace. But Williams would really need to work on his 3's or he'd be useless.