Re: There's been some discussion of Eric Williams on the list.

["Jim Meninno" <jim_meninno@hotmail.com>]

>From: damekmo@teleport.com

>But Williams lost something besides weight during his year-long
>rehabilitation. When he came back, he wasn't the same driving dervish that 
>had made him the star of the Nuggets' 1997 preseason. Instead, he was 
>tentative and many times seemed out of place on the court.

I still maintain that one year is too early to judge how a player comes back 
from ACL surgery.  There is precident for athletic type players coming back 
quite well.  Ron Harper and Danny Manning come to mind.  Will Eric ever be 
the same as before?  Probably not.  Will he be worth his current contract?  
I doubt it.  But, I still think he's come along better than Popeye, who was 
made completely redundant by getting Fortson.  It makes you think that each 
side wanted to dump their ACL baggage because the main players involved 
removed any need on Denver for Williams (remember, Mercer's a forward now), 
and Boston for Popeye.  I doubt either of those players would have been 
involved otherwise.  And, because Williams has a larger contract, Denver 
paid as much of the difference as the league would allow.  And, because 
they're an up and coming, playoff bound team (yeah right!), they were 
gracious enough to add a first round draft pick.  So, for the time being, 
Williams isn't costing any more than Popeye.  And in a year or two, with his 
newly found enthusiasm for training, he should have gotten a lot more 
accustomed to playing on a rebuilt knee.  I do think, though, that any 
thoughts of trading him right now are unrealistic, as no one will take him.

Jim


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