FanHouse MarcusWilliams

Normally, you'd look at an opening night game where the Warriors took the New Orleans Hornets down to the wire without Monta Ellis and say "Hey, that's pretty good! How about these Dubs?!"

Unfortunately, it ignores two points. One, the Warriors still lost, and two, the Warriors completely abandoned the youth movement they centered around all summer. In last night's game, Don Nelson ran a 7 man rotation (outside of a scintillating 23 second performance by C.J. Watson), that featured all veterans, DeMarcus Nelson for about long enough for Nellie to figure out he didn't like him, and Al Harrington who has publically begged, demanded, and pleaded to be traded.

Who got the DNP-CDs? Marco Belinelli. Okay, that's understandable, the guy's never put in a good regular season stretch yet. Marcus Williams. Okay, when you're in the Nellie doghouse, you're in the Nellie doghouse. Brandan Wright. Huh. That's odd. He's a second year guy and they really need to get him some time. Guess he's still in the doghouse, too. Anthony Randolph. What? So after four months of talking about how much you love the kid and gushing over his handle you just sit him and don't play him?

And the hits just keep on coming.

Less than two months after losing Baron Davis in free agency to the Los Angeles Clippers and anointing Monta Ellis as their point guard of the future (a risky proposition in and of itself), the Golden State Warriors have now lost Ellis to an ankle and shoudler injury for 3-4 months, keeping him out until near the beginning of the year at least.

ESPN reports that Ellis was scheduled to undergo surgery on Wednesday to repair a torn deltoid ligament, and also has sustained a severe ankle sprain that will require his leg to be immobilized for six weeks. That would be when training camp starts, for those keeping score. The injury occured when Ellis was working out at home in Jackson, Mississippi.

So just to review, the Dubs lost their star player to free agency, signed Corey Maggette who's not really considered elite by anyone's standards, almost lost Kelenna Azubuike to an offer from the Clippers before matching, traded for the Nets' Marcus Williams, and then started to hear Stephen Jackson grumbling about his contract. Now they are face to face with the reality that their $66 million dollar investment is down and out for the first two months of the regular season at least. So if you know a diehard Warriors fan, you might want to give them a call, send them a candygram, possibly talk them off the ledge. The sky may not be falling, but it sure looks closer than it did three months ago.

Lest Don Nelson be caught without a backup plan should Monta Ellis clash with his assumed new role as point guard of the Warriors, the team traded a future protected pick to New Jersey for Marcus Williams, according to the New York Post. Williams had basically been demoted to third-string once the Nets traded for Keyon Dooling. Given Williams' value out there, a trade was expected.

Williams won't step in and start for Nellie right away; the coach has focused his narrative this summer on Ellis taking over the point in the absence of Baron Davis. But things could go wrong. No offense C.J. Watson, but Williams could possibly be a legitimate stop-gap if Ellis can't yoke it at the point full-time. Also, if Nellie doesn't last the season (possible) or come back for 2009-10 (likely), Williams provides the successor a more traditional option.

The other thing that strikes me about Williams' fall: he was the steal of the draft as of Draft Night 2006. Two years later, he's cast off for a 2012 pick, despite a reasonable salary and a tight market for point guards. We really need to stop judging draft picks so fast.

While summer's an uncertain time for just about any old NBA player, some folks on the lower rungs of the league find themselves on land less stable than T.J. Ford's neck. Two of those fellows this year: Shawne Williams and Marcus Williams.

Shawne, already on Larry Bird's DO NOT WANT list, met trouble one more time over the weekend. Williams was stopped by police for illegally tinted windows and not wearing his belt. His passenger, though, got pinched for marijuana possession. This is not the first time Williams has been with a buddy who ended up in cuffs (and Shawne himself has been in a bit of a tight situation before).

In New Jersey, the fuzz hasn't lead to Marcus Williams' eminent dismissal -- Keyon Dooling has. The Nets landed Dooling in a sign-and-trade this morning. Orlando will receive a $3.3 million trade exception. Williams will receive lots of ink on HoopsHype over the next few days (or weeks). With Devin Harris installed as default starter and Dooling as a plus-sub, there's just no room for the alleged thief steal of the 2006 draft.

After a rather humiliating sweep in the first round by the Los Angeles Lakers following a rather mediocre regular season, Denver Nuggets fans wanted change. Be careful what you wish for, for ye will surely get it.

In a report this morning by the North Jersey Record, there is a blockbuster trade being worked on between the New Jersey Nets and the Nuggets that would send Carmelo Anthony, yes, Carmelo Anthony and Marcus Camby to New Jersey in exchange for Richard Jefferson, Marcus Williams, Keith Van Horn and his faux-contract, and the Nets potential lottery pick.

Take a sec to let that idea sink in. I'll give you a few.

Okay.

So beyond the obvious prospect of trading away the player that was long considered their franchise player and one of the league's leading scorers, the Nuggets are also considering throwing in a former Defensive Player of the Year that is still able to do things like, you know, defend. In return they are talking about a 27 year old solid small forward, but after that it's a rookie prospect, some cap room, and a draft pick that is likely to be around the eleventh. In order for this to work, the Nuggets would have to make a pretty big splash in both the draft and free agency. We're talking "max contract offer to Elton Brand" level of splash. If that weren't to happen, where does this leave Allen Iverson? Carrying the burden for a group of underachievers and a few talented pieces? Haven't we seen this script before? The Nets, on the other hand, would instantly have a ton of talent, and still have a first rounder. They would then start a lineup of Devin Harris, Vince Carter, Carmelo Anthonyge, Krstic, and Marcus Camby, with a late 1st round draft pick, Josh Boone, and reasonable cap flexibility within a few years with Melo's player option and Carter's expiring. Wowzers.

Ah, trade season's back. How we missed it. Let the rumors fly!

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded NBA Correspondent, brings his exclusive NBA reporting to FanHouse. Check back here regularly for more videos.

In this video Marcus Williams tells about the origin of the Martin Luther King quote tattooed across this chest, but the interview really gets interesting around 1:50, when Smush overhears him downplaying the talent coming out of New York.


Video link.

B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.

Cup of Coffee
If you don't get the Bad Boys reference, I'm sorry. It appears my time has passed me by. Anywho, Kyle Lowry got the most run of the trio of young Memphis point guards last night, seeing 32 minutes and scoring 24 points with four assists and two steals. Javaris Crittenton had 30 minutes and scored 17 points with four assists and a steal, while Mike Conley, Jr., scored zero points (0 for six shooting) with one assist and a steal in 16 minutes. All of this is important, because for the rest of the season, the Grizzlies are essentially having a tryout for point guard. Whoever is playing well will keep getting the run. I love Conley, and he's legit, but I think people undervalue Lowry. Since it appears he's not going to have a tremendous leash, well, adjust accordingly.

Hot Cakes
Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes are both starters now (do these guys have dirt on a slew of NBA coaches?). Hughes put up eight points with five assists and two steals in 25 minutes while Gooden went nuts, albeit against Memphis, for 21 points and 14 rebounds. It's classic sell high on either guy, although they're certainly doing their best to spite LeBron James at this point.

Mike Miller has been out almost the equivalent of a week in NBA games for the Grizzlies, but is expected to return tonight. Consider holding him out one more game because back injuries = bad field goal percentage.

B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.

Cup of Coffee
Stephen A. Smith rolled over in his vocal-chord enhancing cyborg chamber last night as Rasho Nesterovic posted a very nice line -- 16 points, five boards and three blocks -- with Chris Bosh beginning to sit out a week with a knee issue. Nesterovic isn't going to set the world on fire, but he can be a nice option in deeper leagues for boards and blocks over the next week, and as long as Bosh stays injured, he's a cheap filler. Plus, he kind of looks like Dwight Schrute, so that's a bonus.

Hot Cakes
It's safe to say Devin Harris is going to take that starter's job in New Jersey. He scored another 21 off the bench last night with five boards and two dimes in 35 minutes; Marcus Williams had eight points with three boards and two dimes, plus four turnovers in only 18 minutes. Get prepared to see Williams' minutes continue to dive.

Luis Scola went off for 18 points and 14 boards against the Nuggets. With Yao Ming done for the season, you could really see that Scola felt a need to carry the offensive load. Unlikely he's available in your league, but if he is, get ready for a boost in value for the remainder of the season.

B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.

Cup of Coffee
We know that Devin Harris will start (we do know that, right?) for New Jersey once he returns from injury. But you best believe that in the meantime, and probably after, the Nets are going to give Marcus Williams plenty of run. He got it in overtime last night, scoring 25 points with four boards and four assists. And yeah, his team won and he awkwardly outplayed Jason Kidd as well. If Williams is floating around or is on your bench, grab him/get him active; he should be a great source of points and light assists over the next week or so.

Hot Cakes
The word out of Milwaukee is that Charlie Villanueva will start for the rest of the season. He's been beasty when motivated before, so make him a priority add this morning if he's available. (Yes, I am aware that he only got eight points and three boards last night ... doesn't matter.)

Robert Swift will also be seeing a big bump in playing time, as the Sonics see what they've got in the soon-to-be restricted free agent. Kurt Thomas is now out of town, so Swift should be a great source for blocks and boards the rest of the way home -- pre-injury he had shown some serious fantasy potential and was always a pre-season sleeper fave.

New Jersey got destroyed in Sacramento last night, and as it was the team's sixth straight loss, you figure something's going to happen. As fans with thirsts for fireworks, we expect big changes, like a head coach getting axed or a superstar firesale. If a rumor from the Bergen Record's Al Iannazzone is to be believed, the "shake-up" will be relatively minor.

Iannazzone says Chicago and NJ are discussing a trade which would put Andres Nocioni and Thabo Sefolosha in Nets threads, in exchange for Marcus Williams and a triptych of smallish expiring contracts. It'd be a fine deal for NJ, who could certainly use some shooting prowess (no Net shoots better than .356 from three) and a reasonable starter for the power forward position (you don't win games with a raw-as-sushi shotblocker and 35% free throw shootin' Josh Boone as your best frontline options).

But Chicago? It's almost a white flag, right? It'd be a long-term cost-cutting measure, and you'd be offering Thabo basically for the opportunity to cut salary. (I think all'd agree Thabo is a better prospect than M. Williams.) Chicago's glaring deficiency is offense, and Nocioni has been a) the most efficient and b) the most frequent Bulls scorer. How do you justify this to the fans, especially considering the conference champion expectations heading into the campagin?