What the Grizzlies Could be Getting if They Get Mo Williams

Apr 5, 2013; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz point guard Mo Williams (5) dribbles in front of New Orleans Hornets point guard Greivis Vasquez (21) during the first half at EnergySolutions Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

Rumors have been moving around the mill recently saying that the Grizzlies are firmly in the mix to land free agent point guard Mo Williams. Landing Wiliams would be a huge steal for the Grizzlies; a decent backup point guard remains Memphis’ biggest hole.

Other than filling a major hole, though, what exactly would Willaims bring to the Beale Street Blue?

In his prime, Williams was an All-Star candidate scorer who put in 18 points per game on 47% shooting and 44% from 3. His efficiency from the floor, his decision making, and vision have all been rightly questioned, but his three-point shooting has never been suspect.

Even now, at 31 years old and fresh off of a nasty thumb injury, Williams can score, and he can score really well.

Williams is also a pretty decent passer, as long as he plays at the point. While he’s on the court, he’s responsible for 34% or more of the assists, which is pretty average for a point guard. The nice side of that is that with Williams, the Grizzlies would get a solid backup to Conley who can still make plays while keeping defenses honest, as opposed to Jerryd Bayless who could occasionally put pressure on defenses but who was never great at running the offense or moving the ball.

Being capable of decent passing and vision is a huge piece coming off of the bench, and it’s a huge asset that Memphis has been missing.

On the other hand, Williams cannot defend. At all. The Grizzlies have done a wonderful job of upgrading the bench by adding Mike Miller and Kosta Koufos, but with Miller and Williams together, there’s a real potential of Mo Williams-Mike Miller-Quincy Pondexter-Ed Davis-Kosta Koufos lineups to see significant bench minutes. That lineup would be beyond disastrous defensively. The Grizzlies have upgraded the bench offense really well, but given their defensive identity, it will be difficult for Memphis to field a lot of the bench players together, and they may still have to play a lot of the starters for heavy minutes.

Williams would not help the problem of bench defense. For his career average, Williams has allowed 110 points per 100 possessions, where the average in the league is 105. Last season, he allowed 111. Williams’ PER last season was a paltry 14.1 (below average, but perfectly fine for a bench player), but his opponents averaged a PER 19.3 when he was defending them. He is, to be perfectly honest, a sieve.

On the other hand, this late into the free agency period, to even be getting a functional backup point guard would still be a huge coup; getting a two-way player at this point would be nigh impossible. We in Memphis should be happy that the Grizzlies are in the running for a backup PG at all, let alone one who can pass and see the floor. After all, Jerryd Bayless can’t defend for anything either, and at least Mo Williams can run the offense.

So that’s who he is, really. A defensive sieve, but a talented one, who can fit into a backup point guard role really well. Maybe it’s not perfect, but it’s probably the best we can get.