Veteran point guard Lou Williams has no apprehensions about returning to the LA Clippers. Williams holds no grudges against his former team.
Advertisement
Lou Williams was one of the founding pillars in the rebuilding journey of the Clippers after the end of the Lob City era. Williams, alongside Patrick Beverly and Montrezl Harrell, did build something special. And with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George joining the franchise, they became championship contenders.
However, things didn’t go as planned. The Clippers failed to live up to expectations, with their performance in the 2020 Bubble making them the poster face of social media trolls. Kawhi and co would blow a 3-1 lead in the conference semi-finals, leading to a heavy backlash.
Despite having the ingredients to win a championship, the Clippers were failing. The front office made immediate changes to the roster, including trading Williams to the Atlanta Hawks. The Clippers needed a leader in the locker room and believed in Rajon Rondo’s capabilities.
The trade had caught Williams completely off-guard, who always wanted to be a Clipper and believed it was his best chance to win a championship playing alongside Kawhi and George. The three-time 6th MOY even thought of retiring at the time.
Lou Williams responds to the possibility of returning to the Clippers.
In his four seasons with the Clippers, Williams averaged 19.1 PPG, 5.1 APG, becoming the leading bench scorer in NBA history and winning two 6th MOY awards. In an exclusive interview with ClutchPoints, Williams reflected on his trade to the Hawks, wishing the organization could have been more patient.
“I wish we would’ve been a little bit more patient with the process of trying to build something special. But you know in this day and age of the NBA, it’s instant results or nothing. That was the only disappointing part, but I have no regrets. I enjoy everybody, no hard feelings towards anybody. It’s cool.”
Unfortunately, the Rondo experiment failed to yield any results for the Clippers. On the other hand, Williams has seen a further reduced role on the Hawks roster. There has been a steady decline in his stats as well. The 34-year old is currently averaging 6.5 PPG and 1.5 APG playing 14.4 MPG.
Recently, the veteran guard returned to LA for the first time after being traded from the Clippers, and was met with a warm reception.
Clippers tribute video for Lou Williams: pic.twitter.com/mN8S2dW0SH
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) January 9, 2022
“It just felt good (to see those guys again). Like I said, I’ve built some great relationships here my four or five years here in this span with this group of guys and this coaching staff and these players. We created a culture here that I was very much a part of, so it feels good to see it still going, still moving in the right direction, seeing some of the young guys growing into their own.”
Thus when asked if he would consider the option to return to the franchise, Willaims replied the following.
“Absolutely, If it makes sense, absolutely. Like I said, I have no hard feelings towards nobody. Obviously, I’ve still got great relationships here, so if it makes sense for both parties, we’ll do it.”
Via: ClutchPoints
With father time around the corner, it would be ideal for Williams to end his career in a Clippers jersey.