Utah Jazz sign Elliot Williams to a second 10-Day Contract

The Utah Jazz announced this morning that they have signed guard Elliot Williams to a second 10 day contract.

Via their press release:

Jazz Sign Elliot Williams to a Second 10-Day Contract Details: http://t.co/0MxEdl4vA9 pic.twitter.com/p1gmppr9mK

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 17, 2015

SALT LAKE CITY (January 17, 2015) - The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has signed guard Elliot Williams to a second 10-day contract. Williams signed his first 10-day with the Jazz on Jan. 7 and has appeared in three Jazz games since, averaging 2.7 points in 8.6 minutes.

When the Jazz signed him from the NBA Development League's Santa Cruz Warriors, Williams (6-5, 190, Memphis) became the 13th overall NBA D-League Call-Up of the 2014-15 season. At the time of his call-up, Williams was averaging 21.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 1.3 steals in 37.2 minutes in 16 games (all starts) for Santa Cruz. He recorded five double-doubles and scored in double figures in all 16 games. Williams scored 20-plus points in 10 games and 30-or-more points twice.

A native of Memphis, Tenn. and former McDonald's All-American, Williams played one season at Duke (2008-09) before transferring to the University of Memphis (2009-10). He was originally selected in the first round (22nd overall) of the 2010 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers.

- Utah Jazz, NBA.com, 2015

I love this, but I find it funny that the Jazz press release calls him a rookie -- because he was drafted in the 1st round of the 2010 NBA draft, and has previously played 24 games for the Portland Trail Blazers and 67 games for the Philadelphia 76ers before signing on with the Jazz this year. But hey, I guess this is me not being professional...

: )

I also love it because I think Williams, once called the best guard in the NBA-DL, can actually help an NBA team. While he does not have the overt defensive hands-iness on Elijah Millsap (loved his block last night on Nick Young), he can do a few good things on offense and defense and help the team fill out some much needed wing depth. Not having Alec Burks around has made this team re-adjust and re-focus what they do on the court. (You can be sure that the Jazz had many talks internally about Burks, between Dennis Lindsey and head coach Quin Snyder -- and agreed that he was needed.) Rodney Hood being in and out of the lineup made scouring the DL absolutely necessary.

Hood is back, and rusty. I suspect that Millsap will get first dibs on being a rotation player for this squad -- he is averaging over 20 mpg as it stands. Joe Ingles was surprisingly good last night, but in the absence of true talent sometimes depth is the answer.

With Williams (and Millsap) there is depth. For those keeping track at home, Millsap's second 10 day contract will expire on January 24th. Williams' will expire on January 26th. If the Jazz elect to sign one of them a third time, it will have to be for the remainder of the season. The Jazz are super under the cap, so it will not be a hefty deal. I suspect that if they do offer a contract to one or both of these players it could be a Jerel McNeal special. What I mean is that it could be a multi-year deal that is non-guaranteed. This would give the Jazz access to them over the summer, and be able to communicate directly with them and direct them to attend and be assessed in Santa Barbara by P3. (McNeal got this, and was working out in the summer with Derrick Favors and Alec Burks years ago.)

But that's putting the cart before the horse. Sap will have games against the San Antonio Spurs, Cleveland Cavaliers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Brooklyn Nets before the Jazz finalize what they will do with him this year. Williams will get an added game against the Boston Celtics before the Jazz decide on him.

I wish them both the best, and hope they stick with the team. I really don't want to have to read, research, and do full posts on other NBA-DL players this year that the Jazz will sign for a random 10 day contract. And more than that, I really don't want to see these two guys picked up by any other NBA team.