Lou Williams Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Rumors: Williams, Lopez, Raptors, Wilcox

April 27th, 2012 at 12:37pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier today, we heard that Gerald Wallace will seek a multiyear guarantee this summer. Here's a few more items out of the Atlantic Division:

Deron Williams told reporters, including Andy Vasquez of the Bergen Record, that he hopes to sign a new contract before the Olympics, which will get underway in late July (Twitter link).
Brook Lopez "made it very clear" to the same group of reporters that he loves being a Net and hopes to re-sign with the team (Twitter link).
Doug Smith of the Toronto Star thinks the Raptors should trade their first-rounder if they don't land the first overall pick. He argues that the team will have a lottery pick arriving in Jonas Valanciunas, and would be better off with a veteran player rather than another rookie.
Chris Wilcox, recovering from heart surgery, was waived by the Celtics a few weeks ago, but plans to attend the team's playoff games against the Hawks. Wilcox told Jessica Camerato of CSNNE.com that he'd like to be a Celtic next season: "I want to finish what I’ve started here. I thought this was a great opportunity for me and things were working out well, and I went to the doctor to get a check up and things just changed."
Asked by Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times if he'd exercise his early termination option this summer, Lou Williams said he has yet to decide. John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported last weekend that the Sixers guard would opt out of his deal.

Lou Williams To Opt Out

April 21st, 2012 at 4:41pm CST by Chuck Myron

Sixers guard Lou Williams will exercise his early termination option for next season and become an unrestricted free agent this summer, tweets John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer. He'll turn down the $5.35MM he was scheduled to make in the final year of his contract.

Williams and agent Leon Rose had spoken with the team about an extension before the season, but decided to end those talks with the idea of revisting them at season's end. Williams spoke highly of Philadelphia to Dennis Deitch of The Times Herald last month, and while he may still return to the Sixers, the team will likely have to commit to a long-term deal to make that happen.

Williams, 25, has provided scoring punch off the bench, averaging a career-high 14.9 PPG this season. He made the team as a second-round draft pick out of high school in 2005, and has steadily become one of the league's most reliable sixth men. Still, he's struggled in April, averaging just 12.9 PPG this month as the team has gone 3-7. A tweener guard at 6'2", 175 pounds, he's likely best suited to continuing to come off the bench wherever he winds up.

The move would give the Sixers added flexibility this summer as they look to re-sign center Spencer Hawes and seek a proven crunch-time scorer. Elton Brand also has an early-termination option that could wipe out the $18.16MM he's due for next season, but it's unlikely he'll turn down that payday. Recent Twitter comments by Sixers CEO Adam Aron seem to indicate the team is looking to make changes in the offseason, Mitchell notes.

Deitch compared Williams' prospects for a deal to teammate Thaddeus Young, who's on a five-year, $43MM contract, and Mavs sixth man Jason Terry, who's finishing up a six-year, $57.8MM deal.

Lou Williams Discusses 2012/13 Option

March 26th, 2012 at 8:43am CST by Luke Adams

The 76ers will head into the offseason with two players holding early termination options on their contracts. Elton Brand, who's in line to earn $18MM+ next season, is highly unlikely to give up the final year of his deal, but Louis Williams is a different story. Williams, a candidate for Sixth Man of the Year, is due about $5.35MM in 2012/13 if he doesn't opt out of his deal, and spoke to Dennis Deitch of The Times Herald about his options.

"I obviously have the option to opt out, but I still have a year there, so I haven’t really thought about it," Williams said. "I’ve just been trying to play well, then in the summertime we can let the business side take care of itself."

Agent Leon Rose and the Sixers had brief discussions prior to the season about an extension for Williams, but tabled those talks until season's end. The 25-year-old sounds as if he's very open to revisiting the topic in the summer.

"I consider Philly my second home," Williams said. "I’m comfortable here, I enjoy the direction the team is growing in, so it’s not really a situation where some guys can’t wait to get out of their contracts. There’s an opportunity there to extend the contract or go somewhere else, but we haven’t really thought about it. I’m happy here and plan on being here."

I'd be a little surprised if Williams waived his ETO and played out his final season. He should be able to negotiate a multiyear contract this summer, with Deitch pointing to Sixers teammate Thaddeus Young and fellow sixth man Jason Terry as potential comparables for a long-term deal.