Lou Williams, the epitome of a professional scorer, was a member of the Raptors once . If he were still around after the season he’s enjoying, would the team let him walk in free agency?
The Toronto Raptors began play in the 1995-96 season, and since that time have waved no championship banners, and garnered precious few individual awards. A Raptors player was last honoured following the 2014-15 season, when Lou Williams was voted the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year.
Despite Lou’s remarkable performance, and his stated willingness to return to Toronto, the Raptors declined to offer him a contract. Understandably miffed, he walked away, and signed with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Lou, now a Clipper, still piles up huge scoring numbers, and is a candidate to win the Sixth Man award again. Would the Dwane Casey of today allow someone with Lou’s talent to walk away without a fight, like he did a few years ago?
Casey – no longer a single-minded coach
Much of the argument in favour of Dwane Casey’s candidacy for Coach of the Year honours revolves around the Raps’ surprisingly successful transition to the modern professional game. He came to Toronto with a reputation as a defensive mastermind. Casey himself has admitted he used to spend very little time while the top man in Minnesota worrying about offense.
More from Raptors Rapture
- Scottie Barnes talks Raptors expectations after bumpy 2022-23
- Raptors’ Dennis Schroder completes Cinderella story, wins FIBA World Cup with Germany
- 3 players Raptors could replace OG Anunoby with at trade deadline
- NBA insider praises Raptors’ hiring of “star” Darko Rajakovic
- Raptors fans will love Markquis Nowell’s insane confidence on Instagram
Most of us have a sense of the numbers. The Raps have jumped from last place last year in assists per game to sixth (18.5 to 24.2). They are third in 3-balls attempted PG, compared to twenty-second (24.3 to 32.9). I could go on, but I won’t. Our eyes aren’t lying, and neither are the stats; the Raptors have embraced the pace & space game in a remarkably short time.
Such a sea change wouldn’t be possible without the enthusiastic support of the formerly stodgy coach. Perhaps Casey glimpsed the future in the bad-dream playoffs of ’14-15, in which the Raptors couldn’t take a game from the #6 seed Washington Wizards. In Game 1, an OT loss, no Toronto starter hit a 3-ball. The offense sputtered in all four painful matches.
In 74 games this season, Lou has made 172 long balls, a number which would rank second on the Raptors behind Kyle Lowry’s 221 but well ahead of C.J. Miles’s 154.
Scorers rule
The NBA reached a tipping point perhaps two seasons ago, and the high-flying Houston Rockets are emphasizing the point in this one. It’s Mike D’Antoni’s world; we only live in it. Offense beats defense more often than the other way around. Everyone has shooters, including unlikely ones like Jonas Valanciunas.
I don’t want to indulge in counter-factual scenarios. I don’t know if Lou’s services could have been retained. But I’ll wager many wobbly pops that if a gunslinger like Williams was playing on the Raptors today, Masai Ujiri, with the enthusiastic support of his coach, would dump a lot of salary to keep him around.