The Hawks played hardball this summer with restricted free agent Marvin Williams, just as the Hawks do with most restricted free agents. Last year, Atlanta GM Rick Sund allowed Josh Smith to hang in the RFA win, only bringing the electric forward back when Memphis got Smith to sign a reasonable offer sheet.It didn't come to that this season -- Marvin apparently talked to no other team seriously -- but it still worked out for Atlanta. Marc Spears of Yahoo! reports Williams will stay in the ATL for $40 million over the next five seasons.
As Kevin Pelton of Basketball Prospectus has noted, Sund has always tried to use restricted free agency to his advantage -- he played hardball with Rashard Lewis, Reggie Evans and Vladimir Radmanovic during his Seattle tenure. Because restricted free agency heavily favors teams over players, Sund has had great success in this area.
Williams as an unrestricted free agent could have received closer to $50 million, even in this climate. He's a stellar defender at the small forward spot, agile and looooong. But during his first three seasons, Williams's offense lagged and his instincts weren't quite developed. He worked hard last summer to develop a jumper ... and it worked! He went from quizzical to stud in one season, and he's one of the more promising small forwards in the league as a result.
A salary contained below $10 million annually is good work for the Hawks, especially when you consider how reasonable Smith's contract looks. The Hawks still need a piece (or serious improvement from the young core, or a standout season from rookie Jeff Teague) to do better than fourth in the conference, but there's time. There's time.
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