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Jay(son) Williams getting the bum rush.....
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rickheel Offline
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<a href='http://www.dailysouthtown.com/southtown/dssports/pro/261sd1.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.dailysouthtown.com/southtown/ds.../pro/261sd1.htm</a>

With J-Will, there's a way out

Crawford starting, so Bulls will try to trade Williams, says source

Wednesday, March 26, 2003




By Paul Ladewski
Staff writer


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Five months after it started, the roundball soap opera known as the Bulls' point guard situation appears to have come full circle.
Convinced that Jamal Crawford is ready to assume the reins, the front office will pursue the trade of rookie Jay Williams after the regular season, according to a team source who is privy to recent talks between Bulls general manager Jerry Krause, Coach Bill Cartwright and his staff.

"Trade him," the source said when asked how the five-month logjam will finally be broken.

The reference was to Williams, who was banished to the bench after his critical remarks about the triangle offense last month.

"He can't play in our system, and he doesn't want to be here," the source went on to say. "If he's still around after the (June 25) draft, there will be some surprised people here."

Krause was on assignment and unavailable for comment. The Bulls host Miami tonight (7:30) at the United Center.

The change of heart represents yet another bizarre twist in the controversy that has been a distraction since the start of the season. Just weeks ago, Crawford was widely thought to be the odd man out.

When informed his career could follow a path similar to that of Elton Brand, another Duke product, Williams was unfazed.

Brand was dealt to the Los Angeles Clippers in 2001 in return for Tyson Chandler, who had just finished high school. The deal came two years after the Bulls selected Brand first overall in the NBA draft.

"If they traded Elton, they certainly could trade me," Williams said. "It all depends on what they want to do. That's something I really can't control. What they decide is what's going to be."

While Williams said he had no plans to actively push for a trade, he made it clear he expects to play an expanded role somewhere next season.

"My goal is not to be a backup," Williams said. "You can't blame me for that. I don't know how things are going to be next year, but I do know that I just want to play. So I'll continue to work hard and try to get better."

The prevailing opinion about Williams is in stark contrast to that of last spring. At the time, coaches and scouts considered his talent, maturity, intelligence and leadership skills to be an ideal fit for a Bulls team that had urgent needs in each area.

If Krause was slightly less enthusiastic about Williams at the time, it was because of his infatuation with Chinese import Yao Ming, whose status as the likely No. 1 selection was in doubt until only days prior to the 2002 draft. But after Houston finally reached an agreement with Yao's representatives, Williams became the easy pick in Bulls camp.

"I mean, when a team makes you the second pick in the draft, you assume that you'll be a part of its future," said Williams, who has been frustrated about everything from a highly disciplined system to a lack of team chemistry to his own erratic play. "Not many (No. 2) draft picks play 10 minutes a game. I guess I'm the first one."

The recent play of Crawford did much to convince his peers that he's ready to handle the job on a full-time basis.

In the nine games since he was elevated to a starting role, Crawford has averaged 15.7 points per game on 46 percent shooting from the floor. He also has registered 3.9 assists per turnover in that span. Overall, the team has an 8-12 record (.400) with Crawford as a starter, compared to a 17-34 mark (.333) with Williams in the same role.

Now that the job he had coveted for months finally is his, Crawford isn't about to give it back anytime soon.

"Nah, not at all. I won't take any steps backward," Crawford promised. "I just want to continue to get better and finish strong. There's still a lot more that I can do."

The decision represents a victory of sorts for Cartwright, who as far back as training camp preferred Crawford in the lead role on the basis of Crawford's two years' experience in the league and his familiarity with the triangle scheme.

But after the organization made Williams the focal point of its marketing campaign last summer, Cartwright reluctantly agreed to cash in on the hype.

Cartwright subscribes to an old-school approach and rarely goes out of his way to heap praise on individual players. But Crawford clearly has been the exception in recent days.

"It has been a long road for him, but Jamal has learned to compete," said Cartwright, who considers veteran Rick Brunson to be a dependable reserve at the position. "He has been terrific lately."

According to team sources, team captain Jalen Rose also has lobbied long and hard on behalf of Crawford behind closed doors.

"Jay never had to run the offense in college, and Jamal has some experience in that area," said Rose, whose so-called Michigan Fab Five team lost to Duke in the 1992 NCAA Tournament championship game. "Jay still has to learn to become a leader at this level, and that doesn't happen in a few months."

Crawford has become something of a pet project for Rose this season. Their lockers are located next to one another at the United Center. Like Rose, Crawford is a Michigan product. Yet those close to Rose say his feelings on the matter run deeper than maize and blue.

It wasn't until his sixth season in the league when Rose became a full-time starter, a fact that he apparently hasn't forgotten.

"Jalen feels that when he came into the league nothing was handed to him," one confidant said. "It's not something he admits to in public, but it really bothers him when something is given to a young player based on his potential and not performance. Jalen feels that jobs should be earned and not given to anybody."

Only months after he arrived in Chicago, Williams could leave it for the last time in three weeks.

"I'll go home to New Jersey and spend my time with my family," Williams said. "For sure, I need to spend more time away from basketball this summer. It has been a long season."



<!--EDIT|rickheel|Mar 27 2003, 09:40 AM-->
03-27-2003 09:33 AM
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DamascusTerp2 Offline
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Post: #2
 
not to brag, but...

<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>I TOLD YOU SO!</span>
03-27-2003 10:34 AM
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rickheel Offline
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nah, go ahead,,,,,brag.... 04-bow
03-27-2003 11:47 AM
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