Mo Williams Scouting Report

[NBAMAN2006]

Hey, I am a Blazers fan and am starting to think Mo would fit very next next to Brandon Roy. With the play of Sessions, I also think MIL could move him this summer. The Blazers have many assets, making them all the more attractive to deal with, not to mention we have a 12.7M expiring in LaFrentz.

So, I was wondering if yall could fill me in on a few questions. As most people know, Brandon Roy plays PG about 50% of the time in Portland. He excells setting up the half-court offense. So, the Blazers need a combo-guard type PG who can play PG about 50% of the time. Mo seems like that guy.

How well can he move without the ball? Does he become ineffective when someone else is handling the rock?

Can he spot-up & shoot? Can he create for himself? How are his slashing abilities?

Can he play D? Does he try?

Any information and trade ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[Captain Erv]

If you ever want Greg Oden to develop in to a dominant big man, you don't want Mo Williams.

Yes, he spots up and can shoot, but does it waay to often. Often settling for mid-range jumpers instead of layups in transition.

If he isn't handing the rock and he does get the ball, he's probably going to put it up.

He doesn't play defense and tries rarely.

[trwi7]

He can shoot and create for himself. He can slash but he's better at shooting. He has a great midrange shot.

He's a sieve on defense. It looks like he tries he's just not very good at it. IMO he would be a great fit next to Roy though.

[wichmae]

I actually think Mo is a good fit in Portland with a couple other great defenders on the floor with him...


I honestly think at this point Raef and an asset or take-back of a bad contract gets you Mo.

[trwi7]

Often settling for mid-range jumpers instead of layups in transition.

What's the problem with that? When he takes a midrange shot in transition he rarely misses.

[ReasonablySober]

If you ever want Greg Oden to develop in to a dominant big man, you don't want Mo Williams.

Yes, he spots up and can shoot, but does it waay to often. Often settling for mid-range jumpers instead of layups in transition.

If he isn't handing the rock and he does get the ball, he's probably going to put it up.

He doesn't play defense and tries rarely.

Yea, but he does it really **** well.

Not a good defender, but there isn't a good defender on the Bucks roster. While some would have you believe Mo Williams is the root of the Bucks defensive deficiencies, they just gave up over 150 points to the 24th ranked offense in the NBA with Mo out of commission.

If you truly want a combo guard, there aren't many better offensively than Mo Williams and his contract is very favorable.

[paul]

Mo would fit very well in Portland imo. He's a terrific shooter and a good slasher for his size, his 'instant offense' is very good. He is a very poor defender, but they probably have enough D to cover it, and his D may not look so bad in their system. He's jumped the shark here and I don't think there's any doubt he's gone, but that doesn't automatically make him a bad player.

[smalls]

I agree i think Mo is a perfect fit on the Blazers, his defensive deficiencies would be covered up by Portland's tremendous length up front. As for the Offense, his combo style of guard play is a perfect fit with Roy. I would also assume that some of that Portland unselfishness would rub off on him in a great way. People here in Milwaukee are definitely down on Mo right now because of this season and because he, as many others, just simply did not fit well on the court, but he has tremdous talent, is under 25, and in the right place could very easily blossom into a very very good player. It just in all liklihood will not be in Milwaukee.

I think the number 10 pick and Raef for Mo and either Simmons or Gadz is a good deal for both teams, it just makes a lot of sense.

[skones]

If we could ship out Mo Williams and Charlie Bell for Raef and your 1st that would be wonderful.

[Wade-A-Holic]

I think Mo would be a very good fit next to Roy. The Blazers are an otherwise very good defensive team, and with all the shot blockers they have inside, they can live with Mo's defensive deficiencies just to take advantage of the scoring punch. As much as Mo hurt the Bucks by not distributing the ball, he was hurt by the fact that it never came back to him. With competent post players and wings that will create off the dribble and kick it back out to him, he could probably score 20 a game for Portland.

Portland will not let us dump Mo on them for their expiring salaries. Their GM has pretty much let it be known that he is targeting next offseason to make a splash in free agency. Acquiring Mo for Lafrentz would ruin that.

With Oden returning and so many teams needing size, defense, and shot blocking in the middle, I could see a 3-way deal in which we send Mo to Portland, Przybilla goes somewhere else while Portland shoots a guy like James Jones (6'8, long arms, shoots well and defends well) back to the Bucks. I wouldn't mind Jarrett Jack, either. He's turnover prone, but he has good size and athletic ability at the point and he plays good defense.

Travis Outlaw is another guy I'd love to get from Portland. He's the type of long, athletic 3 man we could really use. He defends and can shoot.

[Superfito]

Mo would be a great fit for Portland, but I don't see them as a good trading partner with the Bucks. James Jones can't be traded this year unless he picks up his player option, and I don't think they'd give up Outlaw.

Maybe we can work Steve Blake into the deal? He could be a good fit in Milwaukee...

[Wade-A-Holic]

Mo would be a great fit for Portland, but I don't see them as a good trading partner with the Bucks. James Jones can't be traded this year unless he picks up his player option, and I don't think they'd give up Outlaw.

Maybe we can work Steve Blake into the deal? He could be a good fit in Milwaukee...

Why wouldn't they give up Outlaw? You have to give something to get something, and the Blazers seem to like Webster more for the future. They have other wings that can fill in and a lottery pick to replace him.

[Badger-in-Exile]

Living in LA, I haven't had as many opportunities to watch Mo as the WI residents on this board, but everytime I've watched, I see the same deficiencies:

--Defense. Constantly mentioned and with good reason. Doesn't anticipate well. Doesn't consistently maintain a good stance (endemic in the NBA, but Mo doesn't have the toolkit to get away with it). I get the impression (maybe mistaken) that he just doesn't study his opponents enough.

--Penetration. Sure Mo is quick and _can_ get in the lane, but when he has to give up the ball, he way too frequently delivers it to a teammate when he isn't in a better position to score. For me, this is the biggest indicator that he is (as many are coming around to admitting) not really a "PG." Obviously a guy like Nash is in a special class, but watch his composure when he's jumped in the lane on penetration--the comparison with Mo is just glaring to my eyes. And I don't see him having really improved significantly on that level. Maybe because of...

--Basketball IQ. Sorry, but Mo comes up short on this in my judgment. He's a good scorer, but lacking in command of the larger floor game. There's reasons he has never had postseason success (even his last year at 'Bama, when they took an early exit from the NCAAs).

He would be a better fit alongside a more well-rounded guard like Roy than he is with the Bucks. And he's got plenty of offensive skills to make his contract reasonable.

Poor man's Marbury (with identical playoff credentials).

[skones]

Travis Outlaw is another guy I'd love to get from Portland. He's the type of long, athletic 3 man we could really use. He defends and can shoot.

From what I've read on the Portland boards, Outlaw is overrated as a defender. He's too slow laterally to be the lockdown type at the three, and two weak physically at the four.

[Superfito]

Maybe I'm over-valuing Outlaw, but I'd rather take my chances finding a combo guard with some scoring ability over a good sized, athletic 3 that can actually play defense, and shoot the 3 at 40%. And I'm pretty sure they're about the same age...Outlaw might even be a year younger.

[El Duderino]

Mo is never going to become a good defender, but there is at least a slight chance he improves a bit if on a team where there is pressure on him to not be so lazy at it.

One problem with the Bucks is there are no leaders or players that give their all on defense every night. Look at Rip Hamilton in Detroit, he wasn't a defender when he got there.

If the Bucks actually had a strong leader and some defenders who brought it every night, it's hard for one guy to get away with lazy defense without catching the wrath of his teammates.

Look at our team, who was going to get in Mo's face for playing lazy defense, Michael Redd? On the Bucks, there is nobody on the roster to police the players because of lazy play and softness given those traits are a plague up and down the team..

[Wade-A-Holic]

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From what I've read on the Portland boards, Outlaw is overrated as a defender. He's too slow laterally to be the lockdown type at the three, and two weak physically at the four.

Fair enough. He's still a big upgrade over what we currently have, and he is a good shot blocker at the 3. He seems to have a pretty decent IQ and plays with a lot of energy, so while he might lack elite lateral quickness to stop some guys, he could probably excel as a help defender while still being adequate in man defense (albeit over matched by some quicker guys).

[skones]

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Fair enough. He's still a big upgrade over what we currently have, and he is a good shot blocker at the 3. He seems to have a pretty decent IQ and plays with a lot of energy, so while he might lack elite lateral quickness to stop some guys, he could probably excel as a help defender while still being adequate in man defense (albeit over matched by some quicker guys).

That's fair, but what concerns me the most are his shooting percentages. Granted, he's young, but 43% (eFG) from a guy with his physical gifts? 84% of his shot attempts this season were jumpers which is alarmingly high. That number is higher than anyone else on the Bucks roster. Given that he shoots them at a 43% (eFG) clip, I don't find that particularly encouraging.

The guy that I would most like to acquire from Portland albeit not totally unrealistic is Martell Webster. The guy has the physical tools to become a very very good defender in this league and seems to be well on his way from what I've seen. In contrast to Outlaw, 83% of his shots are classified as jumpers but his eFG% is over 50 in every area.

[Wade-A-Holic]

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That's fair, but what concerns me the most are his shooting percentages. Granted, he's young, but 43% (eFG) from a guy with his physical gifts? 84% of his shot attempts this season were jumpers which is alarmingly high. That number is higher than anyone else on the Bucks roster. Given that he shoots them at a 43% (eFG) clip, I don't find that particularly encouraging.

The guy that I would most like to acquire from Portland albeit not totally unrealistic is Martell Webster. The guy has the physical tools to become a very very good defender in this league and seems to be well on his way from what I've seen. In contrast to Outlaw, 83% of his shots are classified as jumpers but his eFG% is over 50 in every area.

Yeah, Portland's entire team struggled offensively this year. I think some of his percentages are due to the fact that he was taking shots he may not have taken for teams that had more offensive weapons. If Sessions proves to be the distributer he's appeared to be thus far, Outlaw is the type of player that will benefit from it a lot.

Unfortunately I think Martell Webster is pretty unrealistic. Their coaching staff is in love with the guy for many of the reasons you just named.

[NBAMAN2006]

How about this deal....

Portland Trades
-Raef LaFrentz
-Channing Frye
-James Jones
-Jarrett Jack
-2009 lotto protected 1st round pick
-NYK or MEM(Whichever is highest) 2008 2nd round pick

Milwaukee Trades
-Mo Williams
-Desmond Mason


That is likley undervaluing him. I would also include #13 if the 2009 pick & Frye are taken out.