Philadelphia 76ers: Why the Team Must Avoid Re-Signing Lou Williams

Last year, Lou Williams was the leading scorer on a Philadelphia 76ers team that came just shy of reaching the Eastern Conference Finals.

Usually, that's something to be proud of. For a sixth man, it's almost always something to be proud of. However, it's not in the case of Lou Williams.

Williams was the sixth man for the Sixers, but he got a lot of playing time. Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner had never been in a real playoff run, as they were run over by the Heat in the first round of the 2010-11 season.

So Williams, who had more experience, got a lot of playing time. While he scored a decent amount of points, and while he did make a few big shots, he hurt the team in a few ways during the playoffs.

Some would argue that he even cost the team a trip to the Conference Finals.

While Williams did score, his poor shot selection cost the team. Williams shot a horrendous 35.2 percent from the field in the playoffs, and he shot a mediocre 40.7 percent in the regular season. He shot 16.7 percent from downtown during the postseason.

Those percentages are all terrible, and they all hurt the Sixers.

The Sixers have a young, talented backcourt in Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner, although Turner could move to small forward if Andre Iguodala is traded. If Iguodala is traded, the Sixers would likely use a draft pick on a shooting guard, such as Terrence Ross or Austin Rivers.

Since the Sixers are a young team, and Williams has been in the NBA for seven years, the team wanted him to help the young players by making smart decisions and big plays in close games.

Instead, it was the young guys making the big plays and Lou-Will making the dumb ones.

As Holiday and Turner develop, having Williams will really do no good. He'll either get no playing time, or take away from playing time Holiday and Turner need. And having him chuck up random shots will start to frustrate the Sixer faithful.

Even if Turner moved to small forward and Iguodala was traded, Williams wouldn't have much of a place. The Sixers would draft a shooting guard or re-sign Jodie Meeks, and Holiday would run the point. 

While Lou-Will was loved by Sixers fans, and while he did play well at times, he was inconsistent and he isn't needed anymore. Philadelphia needs cap space to go after a big man in free agency, and signing Williams won't do anything good for the team.

Philadelphia could have made the Eastern Conference Finals last year, and Williams was a big part of that team. However, the team is just taking off, and Williams needs to be left behind.