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One notable free agent still looking for a home is Lou Williams. The three-time Sixth Man of the Year is a lethal scorer off the bench, instant offense, perfect to fill out the Philadelphia 76ers’ rotation.
Williams remains unsigned as a free agent and could be the sparkplug that Doc Rivers needs. Player and coach are quite fond of one another, too. Williams spent three seasons playing for Rivers when the two were together on the Los Angeles Clippers. Williams racked up two of his three Sixth Man of the Year awards there under Rivers’ watch.
The relationship proved extremely beneficial to Williams who had been contemplating retirement at the time. He had just been traded from the Rockets to the Clippers – his third team in six months; he wasn’t feeling wanted. Rivers helped “reenergize” Williams by unleashing him offensively, with valuable input from then-Clippers assistant Sam Cassell.
The coaching staff fought hard to gain his trust after Williams let it be known that he didn’t want to be there early on. Here’s what Williams told Draymond Green about Rivers:
Doc called me, are you there yet? No, I’m on my way to the airport. And he said turn around, I need to talk to you. So, I turn around, go back to the gym, and he’s like what’s up with you? I’m like, whatcha mean? He’s like your energy, I ain’t really feelin’ it. If you know Doc, he don’t hold no punches. He like, I ain’t feelin’ it.
He said, you don’t want to be here? I said, I don’t. I said, I got traded twice in six months. It’s like y’all weren’t on my radar. I wasn’t a big Clippers fan. They are having all this turmoil in the media with Doc and DJ [DeAndre Jordan] and Blake [Griffin] and all of that with Chris [Paul]. Bro, I don’t want to be a part of this.
He’s like, look we reset and we re-energizing. I don’t what else I need to tell you, but this is gonna be your home. And I’m gonna allow you to be yourself, and we’re gonna to do something special here. And Doc told me that Day 1. For whatever reason, I believed him. For whatever reason, I bought in. And my Clippers run is by far the best I’ve felt playing basketball in my entire career … That was just a special time in my career.
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‘Sweet Lou’ Drafted by Sixers Out of High School
Williams also has strong ties to the City of Brotherly Love where he spent his first seven seasons. The Sixers took him 45th overall in the 2005 draft, straight out of South Gwinnett High School. He took over the starting point guard duties the following year after Allen Iverson was traded. His “idol” and reason for his whole being.
“He’s my idol,” Williams said of Iverson. “My whole thing is based around the image that he created. I worshipped the ground this dude walked on.”
The 35-year-old got to play alongside Iverson for one season before the future Hall of Famer was sent packing to Denver. Williams cherished his time in Philly, saying he “caught a break” by getting drafted there. Why? Because he thought he was going No. 29 to Miami but slipped into the second round. The Sixers took a chance because Williams shared the same agent as then-coach Mo Cheeks.
“I caught a break with Philly because my agent represented Mo Cheeks at the time, which he was the head coach, so they really did me a favor,” Williams told Green. “They drafted me as a favor for the relationship that Mo and my agent had. And they thought I was talented, so it was a low risk, high reward thing for them, and they took a chance on me, and I spent the first eight years of my career in Philly.”
Homecoming for Williams in Philly?
Williams remains unsigned in free agency. He suited up in 56 games last season for the Atlanta Hawks on a one-year, $5 million deal. It was a year Williams said “doesn’t count” on his resume. It wasn’t a good fit for his talents, although he did get to mentor Trae Young.
He didn’t want to go back to Atlanta – nothing personal there – but he’s not ruling out a return if a good situation arises somewhere else. He’s also fine to stay home in Georgia and raise his family, tend to his children.
“I got a lotta s*** going on around the house that could use my time and my energy,” Williams said. “So if it don’t make sense, I’m not interested in it. But I would definitely still like to play. I still enjoy it. I still have the desire to play. I still have the desire to be on the road with the guys and try to create memories, so if the phone ring it ring.”
Maybe Sixers president Daryl Morey should pick up the phone and make that call. Williams could give them 20 “rolling dice” minutes off the bench every night, putting up 12-15 points per game while getting “reenergized” in Rivers’ system. It’s worth a call.
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