With T.J. Ford's playing status for the upcoming NBA season so precarious, the Milwaukee Bucks are making a concerted effort to shore up their point guard position. On Thursday, the Bucks took a major step forward by signing Detroit Pistons free-agent Mike James. On Friday, they made another significant move by convincing free-agent Maurice "Mo" Williams of the Utah Jazz to sign an offer sheet. "Mo's very excited about it," Mark Bartelstein, Williams' agent said in a telephone interview Friday night. "He thinks it could be a great opportunity for him.'' Williams certainly has a chance to play extended minutes for the Bucks if Ford doesn't sufficiently recover from offseason cervical spine surgery. Bucks officials are optimistic Ford will return to action during the 2004-2005 season, but they have also made it clear that they won't rush him. Because Williams is a restricted free agent, the Jazz have 15 days in which to decide whether to match the Bucks' offer and retain Williams' services. http://www.journaltimes.com/articles/2004/.../iq_3031678.txt
I'll be extremely happy to see my boys Mo and Haislip playing together.. (If Haislip ever decides to show something)
I like Williams a lot..extremely athletic and quick but hasnt showed full point guard skills just yet...he has a lotta potential tho...I'm curious to see if Utah will match...
This kid's a stud. I didn't even know he was a FA. I hope the offer isn't matched because he wasn't used much in Utah even though he's better than Raul Lopez. This would turn out to be a nice signing if he ends up with the Bucks.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting TwinTowers:</div><div class="quote_post">I will be really glad to see Williams in a Bucks uni I hope the Jazz don't match the offer.</div> Jazz already have pg's Carlos Arroyo and Raul Lopez, so i dont think they will match. plus the deal is 5.5 million for 3 years. so maybe they jazz wont match it.
Being a Jazz fan, I hope the Jazz match it. But I have been watching Mo or atleast seeing highlights of him since his senior year of high school, I think if he would of waited one more year in college and been on this year's Alabama team that went to the elite 8, he would of been a first rounder and possibably a lottery pick. Mo is a guy who is going to try his best everytime on the court, last year when he came in, he would do what the Jazz needed him to do, weither it was scoring, passing, or defense, it seemed like Jerry Sloan would say Mo we need some scoring and he would go out there and shoot. He is a coaches dream. I think the Jazz would be foolish if they let Mo go by because I think he has a better upside than Arroyo and Lopez, but where ever he goes I hope he does well.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting spark22:</div><div class="quote_post">Being a Jazz fan, I hope the Jazz match it. But I have been watching Mo or atleast seeing highlights of him since his senior year of high school, I think if he would of waited one more year in college and been on this year's Alabama team that went to the elite 8, he would of been a first rounder and possibably a lottery pick. Mo is a guy who is going to try his best everytime on the court, last year when he came in, he would do what the Jazz needed him to do, weither it was scoring, passing, or defense, it seemed like Jerry Sloan would say Mo we need some scoring and he would go out there and shoot. He is a coaches dream. I think the Jazz would be foolish if they let Mo go by because I think he has a better upside than Arroyo and Lopez, but where ever he goes I hope he does well.</div> i found this on hoopshype.com: If the Utah Jazz want to keep restricted free-agent guard Mo Williams, it will cost them. ('http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,595082681,00.html Williams, a second-round draft choice last summer who played very well behind Carlos Arroyo and Raul Lopez last season, has signed an offer sheet with the Milwaukee Bucks for $5.5 million over three years his agent, Mark Bartelstein, confirmed for the Deseret Morning News by telephone on Saturday. http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,595082681,00.html Deseret Morning News Jazz senior vice president of basketball operations Kevin O'Connor said he had not yet seen a copy of the Bucks' offer but was aware of it;That's what I understand, he said. Until I see the paperwork, I really don't have a comment. http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,595082681,00.htm I don't know how it's being paid (per-year breakdown, etc.). Obviously, we want Mo back. We'll have to take a look at it and see what it works into. We would like to have him back, but it's going to be dependent on where it comes up. http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,595082681,00.html Deseret Morning News http://www.sltrib.com/sports/ci_2390954 The Jazz aren't in any hurry to make a decision; We'll sit down and look at it, O'Connor said. ;But we've got 15 days. . . . The one thing I can tell you is we're going to do what's best for the franchisehttp://www.sltrib.com/sports/ci_2390954 Salt Lake Tribune http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,595082681,00.html If Utah passes on Williams, it might open at least a training-camp look for someone like former Weber State player Jermaine Boyettee last cut of 2003, or Rocky Mountain Revue Jazz members Keith Duany, a guard-forward from Syracuse; or Ruben Douglas of New Mexico, who played some point in the Revue. 'http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,595082681,00.html
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting spark22:</div><div class="quote_post">Being a Jazz fan, I hope the Jazz match it. But I have been watching Mo or atleast seeing highlights of him since his senior year of high school, I think if he would of waited one more year in college and been on this year's Alabama team that went to the elite 8, he would of been a first rounder and possibably a lottery pick. Mo is a guy who is going to try his best everytime on the court, last year when he came in, he would do what the Jazz needed him to do, weither it was scoring, passing, or defense, it seemed like Jerry Sloan would say Mo we need some scoring and he would go out there and shoot. He is a coaches dream. I think the Jazz would be foolish if they let Mo go by because I think he has a better upside than Arroyo and Lopez, but where ever he goes I hope he does well.</div> The Bucks also are hoping to add point guard Maurice "Mo" Williams, the restricted free agent from the Utah Jazz, but are still waiting to hear a response to their three-year, $5.5 million offer. Utah has until midnight Sunday to match the offer or relinquish Williams to the Bucks. Utah already has point guards Carlos Arroyo, currently starring for Puerto Rico in the Olympic Games, and Raul Lopez under contract. Arroyo signed a four-year deal with the Jazz in July. Williams averaged 5.0 points in 13.5 minutes per game as a rookie, but he showed enough promise to make the Jazz think twice about letting him go. "I wish this was easy, but there are a lot of things to consider," Jazz vice president Kevin O'Connor recently told the Salt Lake Tribune. The Bucks want to add the 21-year-old Williams to give themselves some protection at the point guard position while their top 2003 draft pick, T.J. Ford, recovers from off-season cervical spinal surgery. "Obviously, it looks like they're going to take the full 15 days to make the decision on him (Williams)," Harris said.
