Lou Williams has been a surprise for the NBA and for the Toronto Raptors as well. They remember in the summer when they gave up an aging John Salmons for Lou Williams and Bebe Nogeuria. Now he is going to be a free agent, but Williams doesn’t seem to want to go anywhere.
According to Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca:
“[Staying in Toronto] would be ideal for me,” he said. “Just the culture that they’re building here, just the identity that this team and this town has, I really want to be a part of it. I look forward to it. I don’t want to say hopefully we get something done, I’m really positive that we will get something done. I don’t see why not, at this point. So I just look forward to the future here.”
Of course, a lot could change between now and July, when NBA free agency officially opens. It takes two to tango – the Raptors would have to be willing to pay up in order to keep Williams from moving south and with the salary cap set to skyrocket the following summer, the market figures to be an unpredictable one.
Realistically, Williams isn’t going anywhere. Masai Ujiri has already addressed that his obligations are to re-sign his players and keep the core team together. Williams also just won the Sixth Man Of The Year Award. You traded John Salmons for your 3rd best scorer? I’ll take it.
