This summer, the Warriors have an opportunity to make up for past injustices. As many of you may remember, the 2002 NBA draft held a great deal of hope for the Warriors. Golden State entered the lottery tied with Chicago for the worst record, and thus shared the distinction (as dubious as that distinction that it is) of having the best chances at the #1 pick with the Bulls. With the top pick in the draft, the Warriors could have had the mysterious Chinese phenom known as Yao Ming. Yao was touted as the next great center and was also a guaranteed attendance and media coverage boost. The Warriors openly pined for Yao, as did every other team in the league. Missing out on Yao would have stung, but only a little, because at the #2 selection, the Warriors could have picked Jay ?Don?t Call me Jason? Williams, the point-guard and leader of the national champion Duke Blue Devils. Jay Williams would have finally filled the gaping hole at point guard that the Warriors have had since trading away Timmy Hardaway. Getting one of the top two picks was going to solve all of the Warriors ills. The only problem was, the ping-pong balls refused to cooperate. Wonder of all wonders, Golden State ended up getting only the #3 pick in the draft (where they selected the enigmatic Mike Dunleavy Jr.). Yao went on to be an All-Star center, though has yet to dominate in the way many had predicted. Williams was not nearly as lucky. After a moderately disappointing rookie campaign, Williams crashed his motorcycle in June of 2003, mangling his leg, and has not played since. Well, Jay Williams is nearing the end of his long road to recovery and has told teams that he is ready to play this season. But as of yet no organization has taken a chance on him. Many fear that Williams will have lost the quickness and athleticism that made him such a highly regarded prospect. It is time the Warriors stepped up and claim what should have rightfully been theirs. Sure, Golden State has Baron Davis as a starting point guard and Derek Fisher as a back-up, but it never hurts to have too many good point guards. Williams would give the Dubs a reliable option should Fisher or the oft-injured Davis go down, as opposed to second round pick Monta Ellis who is fresh out of high school and not really a true point guard. In fact, Williams could well be a Baron Davis clone. Much like Davis, Williams? strength is penetrating the lane and attacking the basket. Williams is not nearly the shooter that Davis is, but he does possess similar playmaking abilities. Should Baron be lost to a serious injury, the team?s offense could stagnate under the control of the slow-footed Derek Fisher, who prefers to hand around the three-point line rather than push the ball down court and attack the defense. Williams would be the perfect insurance policy. Considering the seriousness of the former Blue Devil standout, Williams would likely not garner anything more than a league minimum contract (likely non-guaranteed). So the worst case scenario for the Warriors in signing Jay would be locking up a roster spot that would otherwise go to some fringe NBA-player like Dan Langhi, hardly anything to worry about. Best case scenario for the Warriors, Williams logs decent minutes behind Baron and returns completely to form. If Chris Mullin is smart enough, he will sign Jay to a contract with a team option for the 2006-2007 season. If Mullin were savvy enough to make such a move, it would put Golden State in the enviable position of being able to dump Derek Fisher and his contract while still ending up with a capable back-up for Davis, or they could trade Williams and his re-captured potential for an impact player. This all seems like a good idea for Golden State, but convincing Jay Williams might be a hard sell. The Warriors already have a tough time getting all their guards the minutes they want, so Jay might end up riding the pine most of the season. Hopefully, he will be grateful enough to just have made it back to the NBA. Even Golden State does not pursue Williams, one can only hope that somebody gives him a chance to make up for that stupid mistake he made back in June of 2003. http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_14000.shtml
