Scott Schroeder is reporting that the Indiana Pacers are actually going to tap into the D-League to sign Marcus Williams for the rest of the season.
Seems awfully strange since there are only five games left in the season but I'd love to see someone like Williams come in and play some minutes to finish out the season and possibly carve out a useful spot on the roster heading into the offseason.
According the Schroeder, Williams is a highly touted prospect in the D-League.
He was drafted by the Spurs in the second round of the 2007 draft, but didn't make the team and ended up with the Spurs D-League affiliate, the Austin Toros, where he's been developing ever since. While he's become more of a leader, rounded out his scoring to include a more consistent jump shot and is better on the defensive end, his developing point guard skills is what has me most intrigued.
Seriously, I'm having trouble digesting this one. Now that the Pacers have won their way down the lottery draft order, they're bringing in a D-League player to fiddle around with for the last few games? Hopefully this is more along the lines of an under-valued prospect with, you guessed it, upside that the team wants to grab heading into the offseason.
UPDATE: To clarify some confusing I'm getting in email, this Marcus Williams went to Arizona (via Roosevelt High in Seattle). He is not the point guard predecessor to A.J. Price from Connecticut.