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Once Mo Williams took his pride out of it, he was able to come to grips with his plight as a reserve point guard for the Clippers.

Williams hadn't spoken with the media since the Clippers acquired Chris Paul from the New Orleans Hornets last Wednesday and got Chauncey Billups during a waiver auction bid after New York used the "amnesty" provision on the veteran guard.

Williams said before the Clippers played the Lakers at Staples Center on Monday night that he needed time to collect his thoughts.

"Obviously, man, your pride is hit," Williams said. "Then once you get outside of the pride part of it, you start looking at the basketball aspect of it.

"And everybody in the world knows I want to win. Everybody in the world knows that it's a good move for the city of Los Angeles. It's a good move for the Clippers organization. Outside of that, outside of my pride, that was just me getting over it."

"You just got to be a pro, first of all," Williams said. "Some guys never recover from this. I talked with my closest friends and even my wife. You've got to be strong and you've got to be confident in yourself to get over this and I know I'm confident. I know I'm going to earn minutes, so I'm not really too concerned."

Brad Turner, LA Times

A note of encouragement for Mo Williams

During the lockout, you worked your tuchus off and lost 20 pounds. Nobody came into training camp a few weeks ago in better shape than you (well, there's Blake Griffin, but for the sake of this conversation, we're talking about terrestrial beings). During the lockout, you organized minicamps and workouts for your teammates, and took the team's young guys under your wing.

Let's talk about that role for a bit, because it's not as if you're being put out to pasture. Peruse the list of teams that have won titles, and virtually every single one of them has featured an assassin off the bench. If you can get a hold of Vinnie Johnson, whose retired No. 15 jersey hangs from the rafters in Auburn Hills, ask him about his time playing behind Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars. He started in only 33 of the 164 regular-season games he played during the Pistons' back-to-back championship run, averaging about 25 minutes per game.

Jason Terry didn't suffer any lack of notoriety as he shot the Dallas Mavericks to an upset Finals victory of the Miami Heat this past spring. An entire mythology has been constructed around "Big Shot Bob" -- Mr. Robert Horry -- a seven-time NBA champion whose biggest moments are now part of the NBA's canon. If your legacy follows the trajectory of Steve Kerr, you'll be a lucky man. And how about Downtown Freddie Brown, who was dubbed "instant offense" by coach Lenny Wilkens and won a ring as Seattle's sharpshooter off the bench.

There's an opportunity for something special in ClipperLand, and you have a chance to be the ultimate microwave. As a mature veteran, you should be asking yourself, "What does this team need from me?" You're not alone here. Paul, Billups, Caron Butler -- even Griffin -- will go through similar self-examinations. Everyone will sacrifice.

Judging from your history in this league as a consummate professional, you likely appreciate this. And once you come to terms with your new reality, your team will be stronger.

Kevin Arnovitz, ESPN Los Angeles