Spruce Derden-USA TODAY Sports
The Memphis Grizzlies have reportedly met with free agent guard Mo Williams to try and lure him to Memphis.
The two sides do seem to have mutual interest, with multiple sources stating the Grizzlies are the front-runners for Williams, some even going as far as calling it a “done deal”. While Williams certainly has definite limitations, he would prove to be a very solid pickup for Memphis. The Grizzlies better hope the reports are right.
Memphis is a tremendous defensive team with a big, tough frontcourt in Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. They’ve been fixtures in the playoffs these past few years, and are locks to be there again next year.
However, after advancing to the Conference Finals this past season, they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs, who exposed their main weakness: outside shooting. The 3-point shot is so valuable in basketball that you need to have a decent amount of shooters on your team to space the floor and keep defenses honest.
The Grizzlies were unable to do this last year, since they only had two above average 3-point shooters on their roster in Quincy Pondexter and Mike Conley. They made a nice pickup in Mike Miller, who is a 3-point sniper, but they certainly could still use a few more.
Williams’ outside shooting and offensive abilities would strengthen their bench considerably. For his career, Williams shoots beyond the arc at 39 percent, which is higher anyone on the Grizzlies last year other than Pondexter. Add Williams to the mix of Conley, Miller, Pondexter and Jerryd Bayless, and the Grizzlies would finally have a handful of potent 3-point shooters in their backcourt.
Justin Brown covers the San Antonio Spurs and NBA in general for www.Rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Real_JBrown, like him on Facebook, add him on Google+
