thoughts on Williams trade

[OzerskyJA <OzerskyJA@cmog.org>]

At first I was horrified by this trade, as many of you were.  A solid
performer like Adrian Griffin, one of our few fundamentals guys, for
Williams, even with his outside shot and afro, seemed equal enough.
Throwing in a first round pick, the lifeblood of any rebuiding organization
(especially a capped-out one like us) seems intolerable.  But the more I
learn about this guy, the more I see why we should pull the trigger -- IF
the pick is lottery protected.  (You would think that with Vitaly Potapenko
sitting on the bench instead of Shawn Marion, this would obvious to the
Celtic brain trust.)  From what I'm hearing, Williams is one of those
Jermaine O'Neal type talents who destroys everybody in his path in practice,
but can't get into games because he plays behind Gary Payton, etc.  He was
far and away the most dominant guard in the Shaw league and routinely puts
up fifteen points in 18-20 minute stretches in Seattle.  He's apparently got
a LOT of Upside, and would make a great third guard for us -- maybe even an
eventual replacement for Kenny, if we can move him at Lottery Time.

Josh Ozersky	
Marketing Communications Specialist 
Corning Museum of Glass