MARCUS WILLIAMS IS A WARRIOR

Great pickup by Mullin. Now we have a true PG on the roster. Marcus Williams is big enough to allow Ellis to play the role he had when Baron was here. He has to get stronger, work on his shot, and conditioning, but he does have 3 point range and excellent court vision - things lacking in Monta's game. He's going to be a good complimentary piece with the potential to be a starter fairly soon if he puts in the work. Who knows, he may even end up being a star, particularly in a run and gun system that could take advantage of his natural PG instincts.


From NY Post Blog:

Marcus Is Gone

By FRED KERBER

Well, so much for fighting for his job.

Point guard Marcus Williams Marcus Williams , who recently vowed to fight for his minutes after the Nets New Jersey Nets acquired Keyon Dooling, is headed to Golden State for a future first round pick. The trade will be announced later today.

The pick is lottery protected for 2011 – so the Nets get it if the Warriors are in the playoffs. If it goes to 2012, the pick is protected 1-to-11. It’s protected 1-to-10 for 2013. If it is not conveyed by 2013, the Nets s\get second rounders in 2013 and 2015.

Posted by Fred Kerber on July 22, 2008 11:58 AM

From ESPN:

2006-07 season: Talk about false advertising. Williams came into the league billed as a pass-first point guard, but instead started firing away like he was World B. Free. The lefty had the sixth-highest usage rate among point guards -- for comparison's sake, Jason Kidd was 27th -- and was second only to Vince Carter on the Nets in that category. But the shots he was creating weren't for others -- he ranked a modest 35th in assist ratio.

Instead, Williams kept shooting, even though he wasn't particularly good at it. He made 39.5 percent from the floor, only 28.2 percent on 3-pointers, and had one of the league's lowest shooting percentages in the immediate basket area (46.5 percent). He was terrible at drawing fouls, too, ranking 61st out of 67 point guards in free-throw attempts per field-goal attempt. All told he ranked 59th at his position in true shooting percentage, making one wonder why he called his number so often.

And while Williams didn't create many shots for teammates, he did for opponents -- only two point guards had a worse turnover ratio. All told, it was a bizarre turn for a rookie who was supposed to be following in Jason Kidd's unselfish footsteps.

Scouting report: A left-hander with a nice touch, Williams looks like he'll be a decent shooter when he gets the open jumper and should eventually add 3-point range. But on the drive, he forces up more slop than a sump pump. His lefty forays to the rim invariably led to him challenging bigger players near the basket, something that's not so effective for Williams since he's a marginal athlete.

As a point guard, Williams seems to have a good feel for the game and handles the ball well, but seemed to quit on plays if there wasn't anything in it for him. The same mentality led him to eschew the mundane pass for the spectacular, often with disastrous consequences. He also had a nasty habit of dribbling into traps.

Defensively, Williams was beaten easily off the dribble by opposing guards and needs to improve his lateral movement and fitness. His size is helpful, and one can imagine him becoming a decent defender if he puts in the effort.

2007-08 outlook: Williams again will be Jason Kidd's understudy; let's hope this year some of Kidd's unselfishness rubs off on him. Rookie point guards with high turnover ratios often show rapid improvement in their second and third seasons; the Nets will have to hope Williams learns from his rookie mistakes and makes more of an effort to be the distributor New Jersey thought it was getting in the draft last year.

Most similar at age: Jay Williams

From NBADraft.net:

NBA Comparison: Deron Williams

Strengths: Williams has improved tremendously since his freshman year when he veraged 9.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 7.8 assists in 31 minutes/game ... He has a great "feel" for the game, something he didn't show freshman year ... A tremendous passer who led the entire nation in assists per game at 8.1 ... He controls the tempo of the game as well as any guard in the Big East ... He displays a good right hand, finishing fairly well on drives with it, though he is naturally left-handed ... His three-point shooting percentage rose over 20% last season to a respectable 40% ... He's a threat from the outside now which allows him to penetrate and dish or finish more often ... When big men challenge him in the paint, he uses a crafty floater/tear drop type of shot that he has really perfected ... He is practically unstoppable in the open court because his decision making is so quick and precise ... Whether it is pulling up for the jumper if his man plays off him or hitting a wing player filling the lane, Williams makes the appropriate decision ... He has a killer crossover that he uses to get by his man on the perimeter and is athletic, getting good lift on his jumper ... Defensively he does a good job staying in front of his man and limiting drives, he averages 1.1 stl/game ...Williams was productive as a freshman where he average 4.3/game assists in only 14 minutes/game.

Weaknesses: One of the main things Williams needs to work on is his turnovers ... Though he makes the right decision on the break, oftentimes he turns the ball over after drive in the lane while trying to feed teammates ... Actually needs to be more selfish at times, especially late in games when teammates are struggling ... Some of the bigger concerns with Williams is his off the court behavior. He only played in 16 games as a freshmen for failing to qualify academically and missed playing in UConn's championship run. Also, more recently, Williams and fellow UConn guard A.J. Price allegedly stole 10 laptop computers from UConn dorm rooms. There could be serious repercussions from such allegations ... Williams needs to keep his focus on basketball if he is going to continue to become the star player that he showed the potential to become last season.

Outlook: In terms of draft potential, NBA personnel always look for red flags and Williams already has two to his name. Unfortunately, that may hurt his stock in the long run and it won't have anything to do with his ability to play basketball ... Williams missed a lay-up that would have tied Notre Dame in a late season Big East battle and his confidence took a hit ... He played all right through the rest of the year, but didn't seem to have the same swagger. It will be interesting to see if he regains his confidence next season ... Williams improved so much from his freshmen year and had such success as a sophomore that it seems certain he will be the class of the Big East as a junior ... Look for his scoring to increase with Charlie Villaneuva out of the mix next season. Also, don't be surprised to see his assists sky rocket with veteran wing players Denham Brown and Rashad Anderson as well as super sophomore (to be) Rudy Gay and big man Josh Boone down low.... His game will actually remind people of former Huskie Khalid El-Amin. The major difference? Williams actually has the size and potential to get drafted in the first round and make an impact on the next level.

David Duane - 7/7/2005

Marcus Williams' nice show
From: jarkid




Marcus Williams Footage from the NBA Draft 2006
From: SeanWatkins