Best NBA Free-Agency Landing Spots for 6th Man of the Year Lou Williams
No one sparked an NBA second team better than scoring guard Lou Williams this past season.
If that sounds like an objective take on a subjective topic, that's because it is. For all of the different numbers at our disposal nowadays, there's still no definitive way to measure "sparkiness."
But there is an annual award handed out to the league's most effective reserve. And, after pouring in a career-high 15.5 points per game, Williams took it home as the 2014-15 Sixth Man of the Year.
It was a well-deserved honor and one that couldn't have come at a better time. Mere months removed from collecting the hardware, the 28-year-old is now slated to hit the open market as a highly sought-after unrestricted free agent.
Any team with cap space and a need for some second-team oomph should have Williams prominently featured on its offseason radar. A lethal quick-strike scorer with slick handles and in-the-arena shooting range, he can create his own shots, set the table for teammates and work away from the ball as a spot-up shooter.
He won't have a shortage of suitors. But these five teams are the ones that should interest him the most.
Toronto Raptors
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The grass isn't always greener elsewhere, and that might apply to Williams.
His first season with the Toronto Raptors wasn't only the most prolific scoring campaign of his career. It also featured the second-highest marks he's ever posted in player efficiency rating (19.9) and true shooting percentage (56.4).
Toronto's perimeter-oriented offense—the team's top three scorers were all guards (Williams, Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan)—catered perfectly to Williams' scoring skills. It was also wildly productive. The Raptors put up 108.1 points per 100 possessions, which was the third-highest offensive rating overall and best in the Eastern Conference.
Incredibly, the Raptors were even more efficient with Williams on the floor. During his 2,016 minutes, that mark jumped to 111.3 points per 100 possessions, which would have easily led the entire league.
It comes as little surprise, then, that Williams said re-signing with the Raptors would be "ideal for me," via TSN's Josh Lewenberg. "The identity that this team and this town has, I really want to be a part of it."
There are both basketball and chemistry reasons to believe this reunion could happen.
But money talks loudly in these negotiations, and it's hard to say if the Raptors will hit the right decibel level. They already have $28.6 million on next season's payroll tied up in the backcourt trio of Lowry, DeRozan and Greivis Vasquez. Toronto has some financial wiggle room, but bringing back Williams wouldn't solve this team's rebounding and defensive problems.
Then again, moving on without him might damage this group's greatest strength. If the price is right for both sides, it would make a lot of sense to keep this relationship alive.
Sacramento Kings
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The Sacramento Kings have tried to invest in their backcourt.
They have spent a top-10 pick on a shooting guard in each of the last two drafts (first Ben McLemore, then Nik Stauskas). They signed Darren Collison and Ramon Sessions to multiyear deals last summer. Then, they traded away Sessions to reunite head coach George Karl with veteran point guard Andre Miller.
Nothing they have tried has worked out yet. Despite getting a monster year from DeMarcus Cousins and a good one out of Rudy Gay, the Kings went just 29-53 this season. Shoddy guard play had plenty to do with those struggles. The Kings' backcourt finished 28th in both scoring (35.1 points per game) and assists (10.7), via HoopsStats.com.
Williams would be an instant upgrade.
His 19.9 PER topped all Kings regulars not named Cousins or Gay. Williams made 152 three-pointers while only playing 25.2 minutes per game. McLemore, who averaged 32.6 minutes, was Sacramento's only player with 100-plus triples, and he only made 140.
With only $53.1 million in guaranteed contracts on next season's books, the Kings should be able to afford Williams. And they're one of several teams reportedly expected to have "strong interest" in signing him, sources told RealGM's Shams Charania.
With Karl behind the wheel, the Kings are itching to run. They averaged 99.17 possessions per 48 minutes after he took over, which would have ranked as this season's third-fastest pace.
But Sacramento needs more firepower—in the backcourt and off the bench—to successfully play at a high speed. Williams could deliver exactly that.
Orlando Magic
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The Orlando Magic's path to post-Dwight Howard prominence starts on the defensive end.
That's where their last three major draft-night investments do their best work: Victor Oladipo, Elfrid Payton and Aaron Gordon. It's also where new head coach Scott Skiles has had his most success.
That doesn't apply to Williams, though. His minus-1.96 defensive real plus-minus was tied for 77th out of 101 qualified shooting guards, via ESPN.com. But that's kind of the point. Not that the Magic should target players who struggle defensively, but they should look to add strengths they currently lack.
Think of Williams as an accent wall in Orlando's defensive powerhouse. He would be significantly different from what the Magic already have, but the stuff that sets him apart could help bring everything together.
"The focus on free agency will—and must—start to change," wrote Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. "The team should add a veteran or veterans who are in the prime of their careers. ... The team has a clear need for a power forward, for a rim protector, for a knockdown outside shooter and depth on its bench."
The Magic, who tied for 20th in three-point makes (6.8 per game) and 15th in percentage (34.7), need more shooting to open attacking lanes for Oladipo and Payton and give Nikola Vucevic more breathing room underneath. They also have to spark a second team that finished 29th in bench scoring (26.5 points per game), via HoopsStats.com.
Both of those are Williams' specialties. The 28-year-old is also old enough to pass on wisdom to the younger players, but he's still in his prime. Since Williams can play either guard spot and Evan Fournier can serve anywhere on the wing, the Magic could put together some intriguing perimeter combinations.
Charlotte Hornets
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The Charlotte Hornets desperately need more shooting if they want to build a functional offense around Al Jefferson's back-to-the-basket game. And they could still use another playmaker to help lighten the load carried by Kemba Walker.
Basically, the Hornets still need what they thought they were going to get from the recently traded Lance Stephenson. Williams could scratch their itch for offensive versatility.
Charlotte's perimeter attack was nonexistent this season. Only three teams averaged fewer threes per game than the Hornets' 6.1, and no one shot a worse percentage than their ghastly 31.8 percent mark.
"We're going to address the shooting this summer, but it could be through the draft, free agency or a trade," Hornets general manager Rich Cho said, via Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.
The recently acquired Spencer Hawes could help as a career 35.1 percent three-point shooter, but he only hit 31.3 percent of his attempts last season for the Los Angeles Clippers and now joins a crowded Charlotte frontcourt. The Hornets could spend the No. 9 pick on sharpshooter Devin Booker, but he won't turn 19 until October.
Williams would be a win-now addition if the Hornets can find a way to afford him. They already have $63.7 million committed to next season's payroll, but that number could come down a bit if they get rid of Matt Barnes, who Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski said they are "unlikely" to keep.
Williams won't find the most lucrative offer in Charlotte. But the shooting-starved Hornets might give him a more prominent role than he'd find elsewhere.
Dallas Mavericks
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The Dallas Mavericks don't have a pressing need for a scoring guard now, but that could change quickly.
Monta Ellis, who led the team in scoring at 18.9 points per game, has an $8.7 million player option for next season. He could decide that's more than enough to continue playing alongside Dirk Nowitzki and in head coach Rick Carlisle's offense. That would also allow Ellis to enter free agency in the cap-bursting summer of 2016.
But Nowitzki doesn't think that will be the case.
"I haven't talked to him lately, but I'm guessing he'll opt out," Nowitzki said, via Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. "Why would he not. ... I'm sure for his market value he feels like he was a little underpaid."
If Ellis thinks there's a richer deal waiting for him, he may have to leave Dallas to find it.
"Ellis should not anticipate that raise coming from the Mavs, who would rather move on than make a major long-term investment in a one-dimensional player whose moodiness and selfishness negatively impacted the team’s chemistry last season," sources told ESPN.com's Tim MacMahon.
Would the Mavs' life after Ellis include Williams? It's certainly a possibility worth exploring.
Both play similar attacking games, but Williams is a more consistent shooter from distance. He's also someone who Greivis Vasquez called "a great teammate" and "a leader," via Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun, so that "moodiness and selfishness" MacMahon described wouldn't be a concern.
Even if Ellis stays, the Mavs will have backcourt holes to fill with Rajon Rondo on his way out of Dallas and J.J. Barea headed to free agency. Williams could plug one with the type of skill set Carlisle has previously put to good use.
Unless otherwise noted, statistics used courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.
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