Warriors Dodge the Lou Williams Bullet

May 23, 2012; Philadelphia, PA USA; Philadelphia 76ers point guard Lou Williams (23) reacts after making a shot against the Boston Celtics during the second half of game six of the Eastern Conference semifinals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at the Wells Fargo Center. The 76ers defeated the Celtics, 82-75. The 76ers tied the series at 3 games each. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-US PRESSWIRE

According to Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News, the Warriors nearly had a deal for Philadelphia 76ers free agent Lou Williams. Fortunately for the Warriors, the deal fell through and Williams agreed to a multi-year deal with the Atlanta Hawks.

Phew! That was close.

For a minute there, I thought the Warriors had forgotten the lessons they learned from Monta Ellis, Jamal Crawford and Nate Robinson, among others: you can’t win with an undersized scoring guard taking all your shots. Period.

I can already hear the popular Warriors’ fan refrain: “But Williams was the leading scorer on a playoff team! He averaged almost 15 points per game!”

Well, congratulations, Lou. You scored 15 a game while shooting a hair over 40% from the field. Double that and you’re Allen Iverson.

The truth is that Williams would have provided the one thing the Warriors already have in abundance: scoring. And since it looks like the Warriors have instead tweaked their deal with Philadelphia to land Jarrett Jack, they’ll be getting the best of both worlds. Jack is tough, unselfish and a proven leader. The Warriors are sorely lacking everything he potentially brings. They don’t need Williams.

So, consider the Lou Williams bullet dodged.