Cured is probably not the right word, but how else is his return from the D-League after two weeks justified? He was a relative non-factor in last night’s 102-89 loss to the Mavs scoring 6 points on 3-8 shooting and dishing 4 assists. Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don’t Lie, who was very critical of the demotion due to the fact that it was done more for punishment than for actual player development is seeing a silver lining now:
Williams appears well on his way to doing his share. Now it’s up to Avery Johnson to try to make a great talent into a great player. Which is sort of the point of coaching. It’s not always about cheering the guy who took the charge after he’s done it. It’s about turning everyone else on your team into the guy that wants to take the charge.
People have a right to defend Avery Johnson here, but I still don’t see the point in this whole endeavor with TWill. If this whole thing was about making TWill a better man or a better player then I don’t think the two weeks and four games he spent down there is enough of a sample size to enforce anything, unless Avery is one of those guys who thinks Lindsay Lohan or Charlie Sheen can get their lives back together after two weeks in rehab. The fact is, Rod Thorn and the front office already used the threat of the D-League on TWill last season and after getting his act together then, he obviously lost sight of how to act like a responsible NBA player. Perhaps I’d be less cynical of this recent move if he wasn’t recalled so quickly and in the middle of a losing streak where the Nets look about as bad at playing basketball as they were throughout the entire 2009-10 season.
