The Milwaukee Bucks, the team with the NBA’s best record, will get even better when they officially sign veteran forward Marvin Williams.
As the old saying goes, the rich get richer. The Milwaukee Bucks are a perfect example of that, as the team is bringing in veteran Marvin Williams.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski initially reported that the 33-year-old small forward/power forward hybrid was receiving a buyout from his current contract with the Charlotte Hornets. Cleared to sign with a contending team ahead of the playoffs, instant buzz generated surrounding what team Williams would sign with.
Per The Athletic’s Shams Charania, that team is none other than Milwaukee.
Forward Marvin Williams is planning to sign with the Milwaukee Bucks after contract buyout from Charlotte, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 8, 2020
Once everything becomes official, Williams will become the newest member of the best team in the Eastern Conference. Posting a 44-7 record through 51 games, Mike Budenholzer has done a fantastic job getting the most out of what he has. Now, he gets a veteran presence that still has some left in the tank.
Williams, a 15-year vet in the league, posts career averages of 10.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game on 44.3 percent shooting from the field and 36.2 percent from deep. His playing time has been cut to a career-low 19.7 minutes per game with Charlotte, but he’s still shooting 44.8 percent on all field goal attempts — and 37.6 percent on 3-pointers.
More from Hoops Habit
- 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
- Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
- Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
- Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
- NBA Trades: The Lakers bolster their frontcourt in this deal with the Pacers
Williams is a 39 percent shooter on spot-up shots from 3-point range. He is also a solid defender despite no longer being in his athletic prime. Having a reduced role this season may have preserved some of his energy for a playoff run with a contending team like Milwaukee.
Wojnarowski’s report also mentions that Williams can “deliver high character to a locker room.” This is a perfect fit in Milwaukee, as the Bucks have an intricate blend of young players and veterans within their own organization. Williams should be able to step in on day one and make an impact before he even touches the floor.
If there was one place the Bucks may have needed any type of help at before Friday, it was at the reserve forward spot. Williams, standing 6-foot-8 and weighing 237 pounds, is more than capable of playing either forward position. For the past seven years, he’s logged most of his minutes at power forward.
The league’s reigning Executive of the Year, Jon Horst, struck again by making this move. This is exactly the type of in-season signing contending teams should make in order to put them over the top. Bringing in some reinforcements a couple of months away from the playoffs gives Williams plenty of time to settle in, and it allows Budenholzer to tweak his lineups to what he sees fit.
All-in-all, the Milwaukee Bucks hit it out of the park with this one. Kudos to Horst and the rest of the staff that made this happen. It should pay dividends on the court in the near future.