The Los Angeles Clippers decided to take Lou Williams off the trade market, inking him to a three-year, $24.5 million extension just before the trade deadline.
With Blake Griffin already gone after a blockbuster trade and with dozens of new DeAndre Jordan rumors circulating every day, a Lou Williams trade seemed almost inevitable for the Los Angeles Clippers. The team appeared poised for a teardown or at least a change in direction after moving on from their foundational star.
Jordan may still be moved prior to the trade deadline, but Lou Williams will be in Los Angeles for a little while longer. The Clippers and Williams have agreed to terms on a three-year, $24 million deal, per Yahoo! Sports‘ Shams Charania. The deal is only guaranteed for $1.5 million in the final year of the deal.
While the Clippers could have gotten some future assets from a contender in return for Lou Will, the team decided that he was worth more to them on this relatively cheap contract. With Williams in the midst of the best season of his career, this contract works well for both sides.
Offensive dynamo
It is rare for an NBA player to peak in his age-31 season, and even more uncommon for a player to peak in his 13th year in the league. It is just about as rare to see an undersized combo guard playing well into his early 30s. Lou Williams is in the midst of accomplishing all of the above in his spectacular debut season for the Los Angeles Clippers.
Williams is all but a lock for his second Sixth Man of the Year award and is averaging career-bests across the board. He is currently putting up 23.3 points per game (his previous career high was 17.5 points per game last season) and is doing so with a career-best 59.3 percent True Shooting percentage. He is not just creating for himself, however — Lou is also averaging a career-high 5.3 assists per game.
Williams was spectacular enough to start the season, but really shined during his blistering stretch over the last couple of months. He averaged 25.2 points per game in December with Blake Griffin out for most of the month. Williams turned it up another notch in January when he averaged 28.2 points and 6.3 assists per game and seemingly could not be slowed down by anyone — including the best team in the league:
While playing against bench players can explain some of Lou’s success, it certainly cannot explain all of it. That is especially true for his career night, as it came in one of his 14 starts this season.
Future outlook
Lou’s defensive weaknesses certainly are a factor in why he is at his best coming off the bench. His lack of size for an off-guard is easier to hide against opposing bench units. By the same token, there are not many bench players who can hope to keep up with Lou’s herky-jerky game without getting in foul trouble.
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The Clippers presumably inked Williams to this extension to be the team’s primary offensive option. However, that does not mean that the team should feel obligated to start him. Even though his career high came in a starting appearance against the best team in the league, Williams is still at his best when he can come off the bench and focus on nothing but scoring and creating for others during his time on the floor.
The Los Angeles Clippers appeared to be gearing up for at least a partial rebuild when they traded away Blake Griffin. However, the beauty of this Lou Williams extension is that it can fit with whatever direction Jerry West and the front office decides is best for this team. Unlike the Griffin contract that could be an albatross in a couple of years, Williams will not even make $10 million per season. Furthermore, the team can decide to move on after the 2019-20 season if LouWill falls off dramatically.
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The Clippers manage to preserve future flexibility while retaining an excellent offensive player at a reasonable price. The chances of hitting on a future first round pick are somewhat slim. Those odds decline even more when you consider that any team trading for Williams would almost certainly be in playoff contention. Lou Williams could have been shipped off for future assets, but his present value is more than worth his relatively cheap contract extension.