Orlando Enlists White Chocolate
Whew! The League just wasn’t the same without Jason Williams this past year, was it? After what seemed like a premature retirement and a failed comeback with the Clippers, JWill is making a homecoming of sorts by signing with the Orlando Magic.
No, he’s no Brett Favre, but the parallels are rather curious: both are American icons, lead the offense, and can’t come to terms with retirement. Both guys you don’t say ‘no’ to when they offer their wisdom and services for a season. The Orlando Sentinel:
The Magic signed point guard Jason WIlliams, the former Gator and Central Florida resident, today. Williams, who lives in Isleworth, worked out at RDV Sportsplex yesterday. He’s been out of basketball for a year after retiring last September for family reasons. That retirement came about a month after he signed with the Clippers.
WIlliams is now the team’s third point guard behind Jameer Nelson and Anthony Johnson, bringing the Magic closer to having a full roster.
Of course, it’s a great move. The Magic had a roster spot open and Williams is arguably better than Anthony Johnson. He has chips, he’s unselfish, and he has the ultimate target in Dwight Howard. Highlight reels, be warned.
H/T: Brad Long.
LATEST NEWS & RUMORS
View all »
- 2012 NBA All-Star Reserves Announced
- 2012 McDonald’s All-American Rosters Announced
- John Salmons Debuts ‘Salmons and Brown’ at Fashion Week
- Ticket Prices Skyrocket as Linsanity Continues
- Big O: West, Chamberlain, Russell, Baylor Would Beat ’92 Dream Team
- Mo Williams Mad the Clippers Haven’t Given Him a Contract Extension
- Kobe Bryant: LeBron James Would Be the Ideal Teammate
- Video: Will Ferrell Does Player Intros for the Bulls and Hornets
- Kobe Bryant Expects Lakers Front-Office to ‘Tweak’ Team
- View All »
And again, the Magic find away to crap on the players that helped them get to the Finals. So long, Anthony Johnson.
[During a shooting drill in which each shot was charted, Williams shot an awful 30% from the field. “]
___
Which still beats Andre Millers 3pt% during last years playoffs. It’s no big deal kids. Who needs to make a high percentage of shots when your passing the ball to high quality wing players and a dominant big man…
I wouldn’t call Hedo a GREAT player. But then again I wouldn’t call Vince Carter great either. Vince definitely does a lot of things better than Hedo, but I think Orlando built its identity around being a nightmare match-up with its two 6-10 unorthodox forwards who could spread the floor (Hedo/Shard). That’s who they were. Now who are they?
The Magic’s “identity” was flawed. Hedo was overrated as a playmaker and consistently made bad decisions throughout the game.
Right now the Magic matchup well with any team in the league and have several players that should be able to exploit any one-on-one matchup.
You have legitimate number 2 and 3 players in Vince and Jameer, along with an outstanding number 4 in Rashard. Brandon Bass frees Howard from the heavy lifting on defense, while providing the effort and shooting that the Magic have been missing for a while. They also have great role players in Gortat, Barnes, Pietrus and even Jason Williams. I actually would have preferred if they kept Anthony Johnson because I think he’s a better shotmaker, but Williams is still talented.
When was the last time a non-traditional NBA squad actually won a championship. The last one I can think of is the Bulls, and that team featured two of the greatest perimeter players of all time.
They beat Boston without KG or Powe. They beat a Cleveland team that was flawed, but still had a good shot to win if Mike Brown could actually coach offense.
I agree with you that Cleveland matches up better with this team now, but that doesn’t mean that Orlando isn’t a better overall team. In fact, the Magic still have the opportunity to force the Cavs to have Lebron decided whether he guards Vince or Shard, like he had to decided between Shard and Hedo last year. Matter of fact, the days of Lebron “resting” on defense against he Magic are over because there is no player for him to rest on now with Jameer healthy and Vince replacing Courtney Lee.
I think Hedo was overrated as a passer and decision maker. I consistently saw him take contested jumpers instead of getting Howard the easy looks he deserved. Moreover, I felt that given the money Hedo wanted, and his age, signing him to a massive deal would have trapped Orlando into having the exact same flawed team for too long.
I think that Vince and Jameer’s skill sets make blend much better with what Howard and Shard do. They are more dependable shooters and better passers. They have better shot selection. The only thing they lose with Hedo is his clutchness, because he is very clutch. But, he would also make stupid decisions throughout the game.
Pietrus is a legit starter in the league at the two. West is not.
Gortat is better than Z. Barnes is better than Moon, AJ and JWil are better than Boobie. I seriously doubt JJ even sees the floor now on most nights given the fact that most teams don’t go more than eight deep. But, even if he does, he still demonstrated skill last year as a role player.
I can’t believe your rankings on these players. Just this past season all the cats you named came up super small against Orlando, and it wasn’t just about the mismatches.
@tavoris, i’ve seen your name around here a lot, so you can’t be serious in your 1:47 comment. Surely, you jest…
Lebron was nice against Orlando, but Pietrus didn’t get killed by him, no matter what stats James put up. Given the current rules and Lebron’s physical build, Pietrus did an outstanding job him.
Now, he got killed by Kobe, no doubt. Lol.
Anyway, Pietrus’ size, physical ability and shooting give him the edge over West in my mind.
But, the season will be here soon enough.
Darksaber…I was (and am) very serious. Turkoglu should be getting blasted up here FAR more than he does, as he’s an average player that was in the perfect system for him. How people didn’t see that is beyond me. Dirk, on the other hand, has been carrying the freaking Mavs for almost his whole damn career. I kinda feel bad that he’s had to play for a carousel of coaches & systems, along with a prick of an owner that overshadows how he’s been a remarkably consistent performer over the past decade. Is he a superstar? Probably not, but he’s been a 23ppg, 9rpg GUARANTEE for the last 6 or 7 years.
Comments