The Jazz have waived point guard Nigel Williams-Goss, per Eric Woodyard of ESPN (via Twitter). Williams-Goss had been owed a $1,517,981 salary for the 2020/21 season, but it was non-guaranteed.
The Jazz drafted Williams-Goss with the No. 55 pick in 2017 out of Gonzaga. Utah held onto his rights even as he opted to play overseas to start his pro career, spending time in Serbia and Greece during the 2017/18 and ’18/19 seasons. The 6’3″ guard then signed a three-year, $4.2MM deal with the Jazz in 2019, although only the first season was fully guaranteed.
Williams-Goss finally made his NBA debut in the 2019/20 season. He appeared in just 10 games for the Jazz, averaging 5.0 MPG. He got significantly more run with the Jazz’s G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars. Across 17 games (all starts), Williams-Goss averaged 15.3 PPG, 5.5 APG, 3.9 RPG, and 1.6 SPG in 29.6 MPG for the Stars. He also boasted a respectable shooting line of .508/.352/.778.
Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets that, even after this transaction, the club remains $2MM over the league’s luxury tax threshold. The Jazz now have 11 players with guaranteed deals, three with zero salary protection (Shaquille Harrison, Miye Oni, and Juwan Morgan), three more on Exhibit 10 contracts, and a pair on two-way pacts.
What! Why?
He ain’t that good.
We’ll have to agree to disagree. I actually really like NWG, and I think he could be a solid role player and contributor for a contending team.
He can bring your team some solid guard play, while defending well, rebounding well, and just doing all the little things correctly. NWG has a very high basketball IQ, and has been coached up extremely well.
While he may not be the most athletic guy on the court, he’s still capable of making plays and setting up others to make plays.
Personally, I hope the Bulls get him to compete with Arc and Dotson for their 3rd PG role..
I have been a Gonzaga fan for about 15 years, and I loved him when he played there. As you say, he does all the little things.
They should have kept him
Damn did they cut Nigel?
this might mean Shaq Harrison sticks, but still surprised they got rid of NWG
Is there a reliable site to see updated payrolls to find out which teams are currently in the luxury tax?
Warriors, Sixers, Nets, Jazz…curious who else.
Basketball Insiders is our favorite source for salary info, but it’s still a little behind in accounting for all the offseason movement.
For the time being, I believe the Clippers, Rockets, Lakers, Bucks, Spurs, and Pacers are all slightly over the tax line as well (some should be able to get under before the end of the season).