Marvin Williams on the Block -- Coming to the Tri-State?

It is being reported that the Atlanta Hawks are looking to move Forward Marvin Williams. The 22-year old Williams was the 2nd overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft. He has had some difficulty staying healthy in his short professional career. In 2006, Williams broke his hand, and he missed several games down the stretch with a injuries to his back and wrist this past season. When healthy, Williams has produced. In 80 games in the 2007-2008 season, he averaged 14.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and a steal.

Williams would be a nice fit for the New Jersey Nets.

At 6'9", 240lbs. Williams can be a complete offensive player if he's featured. He was able to display his ability run the floor, play in the paint and shoot jumpers in Atlanta. However, he was hardly ever the center of the offense. Normally, Mike Bibby, Joe Johnson or Josh Smith got the most touches. He was seldom able to take over a game.

Josh Smith was similar to and more featured than Williams, causing him to become an afterthought. In New Jersey, Williams would be the only player with his specific skill set. That type of player is something the Nets were in terrible need of last season. There was no explosive big man to play alongside Devin Harris. Brook Lopez, while athletic, is more of a plotter than a runner.

The New Jersey Nets need to rebuild. Their young core of Harris, Lopez, Chris Douglas-Roberts and Ryan Anderson is promising, but the roster is weighed down by older veterans and problems.

Vince Carter has been rumored to be traded for quite some time. The 32-year old did average over 20 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists last year, but his explosiveness has diminished. I'll say that Carter has remained productive throughout his physical regression, but New Jersey should trade Carter for some young talent while he still has value.

Other issues on the roster are Josh Boone, who comes off as uncoordinated, and Sean Williams who has a tendency to get into trouble off the court. Also, Bobby Simmons is liable to get hurt, and when he's healthy, he doesn't perform at a high level. Yi Jianlian seems to have confidence issues and is already being shopped by the organization.

The addition of Marvin Williams will help begin the process of cutting dying and dead weight.

The Nets will most likely select in the 11th spot in this year's draft. Rod Thorn has come out and said that he will not draft based on need, but rather on talent, if his team is picking in that or a similar spot. That player could more than likely be a point guard. The draft is heavy on point guards. New Jersey clearly does not need a point guard or a backup point guard, as they have Devin Harris and Keyon Dooling.

So if New Jersey does end up with a point guard in the draft, it would be ideal to trade the player's rights to Atlanta for Marvin Williams. Mike Bibby is still one of the best at his position, but the 31-year old is a free agent. I don't think the Hawks will want to sign him back if he doesn't take a discount -- he made $15 million this past season.

The Nets were close to making the postseason with their current team. They need a few players to get them over that hump. Marvin Williams could be one of those players.


--Max Caster