JS: Williams, Bucks move closer to deal - Deal's done
Larry H offered him a longer term deal.
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Day-long negotiations pushed the Milwaukee Bucks closer to a deal with free-agent point guard Mo Williams, but no final agreement was reached today.
Sources indicated the Bucks have offered a six-year, $51 million deal to Williams, increasing their offer from a five-year, $42 million contract.
"We're making good progress," Bucks general manager Larry Harris said. "Negotiations are progressing well, and we're optimistic. We still have some details to work out."
The unrestricted free agent has received a five-year offer worth about $31 million from the Miami Heat, the maximum Miami is able to spend since it exceeds the league's salary cap. Several other teams also have expressed interest in Williams, including the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers, but would need a sign-and-trade deal to acquire him.
If the 6-foot-1 Williams does sign with the Bucks, it will solidify the team's backcourt situation. It would give Milwaukee a high-octane combination featuring Williams and shooting guard Michael Redd, the fifth-leading scorer in the league last season.
"We talked and some progress was made," said Williams' agent, Mark Bartelstein, regarding his conversations with the Bucks. "We're working toward some things."
Bartelstein said he hoped a final resolution would come early next week.
Last weekend, Williams met with Miami President and coach Pat Riley and heard the Heat's pitch.
Point guard Mo Williams has agreed to a six-year, $52 million deal to stay with the Milwaukee Bucks, it was confirmed today.
Several details remain, but negotiations on Friday assured that Williams would remain with the Bucks.
"Senator (Herb) Kohl and Larry Harris and the entire organization made it clear how important Mo was to them and their future," said Williams' agent, Mark Bartelstein.
Several contract options are still being discussed involving the fifth and sixth years of the contract, Bartelstein said. Williams could have player options for those years.
"They stepped up big-time and made it clear how much they wanted him," Bartelstein said on Saturday, referring to Kohl, the Bucks owner, and Harris, the team's general manager.
"Senator Kohl is truly committed to winning, and he stepped up big-time to keep Mo there."
Williams will form a strong starting backcourt duo with shooting guard Michael Redd.
The Miami Heat had courted Williams, offering a five-year, $31.4 million deal, the maximum it could give under salary cap guidelines.
"Obviously, it's a great organization, with Dwyane Wade and Shaq (Shaquille O'Neal). They just won a championship a year ago."
The contract averages $8.67 million per year.
"My hat is off to Larry Harris," Bartelstein said. "They all worked very hard and put a lot of time and energy into this."
Possibly slightly overpaid, though he's young, still improving.
And obviously the Bucks needed to pay to keep him - maybe he was just using Miami to drive the price up - but it's not as bad as most contracts this offseason.
The two options are interesting, you gotta think he opts out in year 5 or 6 in order to get another 'big' contract before settling into the veteran looking for championship mode.
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Life, go easy on me
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How well is the Knicks Starters vs NBA Team Starters? 60%? 50%? 40%? or are we waiting to see by being optimistic because we have a new additional player in the Starting lineup that we assume Stat sheet record says he is better with this Knick roster than the guy he is replacing?
Wow, it's not even funny how much the Bucks would have been screwed if they weren't able to get this done.
Is Bobby Simmons going to be healthy and available for the start of the season?
If the Bucks can bring back all of their free agents (Boykins, Bell, Patterson) and then somehow convince Yi to play for them, they'll be incredibly deep.
PG: Maurice Williams...Earl Boykins...Lynn Greer
SG: Michael Redd...Charlie Bell
SF: Bobby Simmons...Ruben Patterson...David Noel
PF: Charlie Villanueva...Yi Jianlian...Damir Markota
C: Andrew Bogut...Dan Gadzuric...Brian Skinner
__________________ Chick Hearn: This game is in the refrigerator. The door is closed, the lights are out, the eggs are gettin' cool, the butter's gettin' hard, and the jellooooooo's jigglin'!
The 2009-2010 Los Angeles Lakers
PG: Derek Fisher, Jordan Farmar
SG: Kobe Bryant, Sasha Vujacic, Sun Yue
SF: Ron Artest, Luke Walton, Adam Morrison
PF: Pau Gasol, Josh Powell
C: Andrew Bynum, D.J. Mbenga
JS: Williams, Bucks move closer to deal - Deal's done
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