Why not Jason Williams?

So... with people worrying right now about another guard to bring to the team to help out 'Reke, Beno, and Cisco, I feel like one of my favorite Kings of all time is getting sorely overlooked.  I mean, we are actually looking at Quincy Douby and Adam Freakin Morrison and White Chocolate is not even discussed?  I don't think its fair to overlook him and here is why.

In the 7th pick in the 1998 NBA Draft, the Sacramento Kings selected Jason Williams, a player who was on the team that got my generation to pay attention to and love Kings basketball.  Now there is a chance to bring him back to this team, who is primed to get a new generation excited for the Kings.  His energetic play, that is still seen today even now that he is much older, is fun to watch and brings that exciting element to the game.  He has a good history with the team and fans, and seems excited when he comes to Arco to play, and always stops by to catch up with the Maloofs.

via rockthebureau.com

Enough of the fanboy love argument, lets get down to some tangibles.  There has to be a reason why the Heat, now loaded with LeBron, D-Wade, and Bosh, were talking about bringing him back to their team (For those of you who do not know, he was part of the Heat championship team with Wade as well as being a big part of going very deep into the playoffs with Orlando).  Lets look to numbers.

In Williams' rookie year with Sacramento, he averaged; 36 MPG; 12.6 PPG; 6.2 APG; 2.9 Turnovers Per Game (TPG)

In his best season, in 01-02 with Memphis, he averaged; 34.23 MPG; 14.8 PPG; 8.0 APT; 3.3 TPG

In his Last season, with the Orlando Magic, he averaged; 20.48 MPG; 6 PPG; 3.6 APG; 1.1 TPG

His career totals are; 30 MPG; 10.8 PPG; 6 APS; 2.1 TPG

Now, these numbers will not blow anyone away, but they show that he is a solid NBA player.  His productivity is roughly 1/2 of what he was producing while his last stint in Sacramento, but still puts up decent numbers for a bench role player.  Also, he is still a great shooter, which is what the team is looking to get.  Last season he shot 44.4% from the field and 38% from 3.  For his career: 39.9% field and 32.8% 3 point.  Not great, but not bad either.  Also, his assist to turnover ratio has been consistently good throughout his career, usually hovering around 4:1.

Lets compare these now, to the other players (Douby and Morrison) the team is looking to get.

Douby:

via l.yimg.com

His last season in the NBA: 10.3 MPG; 4.4 PPG; 1.7 APG; 1.0 TPG; 54.6% FG*; 44.4% 3PT*

*Note these percentages are misleading because he only played in 7 games and only attempted 31 shots total so it is a small sample to go on

His Career (NBA); 10.41 MPG; 4.1 PPG; 0.7 APG; 0.6 TPG; 38.9% FG; 31.2% 3PT

Morrison:

via miamiheatbeat.com

His last season: 7.74 MPG; 2.4 PPG; 0.6 APG; 0.3 TPG; 37.7% FG; 23.8% 3PT

His Career: 20.23 MPG; 7.5 PPG; 1.4 APG; 1.1 TPG; 37.3% FG; 33.1% 3PT

I think these stats pretty much speak for themselves.  Jason Williams, even in his old age, puts up much better numbers, and more efficiently as well.  Douby and Morrison almost have a career Assist to turnover ratio of 1:1!  Another advantage that White Chocolate has on these 2 is that he is legitimately experienced, and he has playoff, and championship experience, in which he actually participated in.  I don't think we would have to pay too much more for Williams than for Douby or Morrison (Perhaps the Vet Minimum?) and he could possibly agree to a 1 year deal, not tying us up for next years free agency.

Personally, I think it would be awesome to bring back Williams so that he can retire a King (for real this time) a la Bobby Jackson style.  He is still productive, is willing to take a bench role, has great experience and a good skill set to teach to our young guys, and will come cheap and short term.  Why we have shown no interest in him surprises me, especially when we are looking at these other hood rats who can't even compare to the Great White Chocolate.