3. Marvin Williams
Editor’s note: Changes have been made to this portion of the article to correctly reflect Marvin Williams’s retirement.
Marvin Williams is a candidate for a veteran minimum contract and fits perfectly in that ring-chaser category that the Los Angeles Lakers are naturally a favorite in. In fact, in my dream Lakers offseason, I left one open spot to an unnamed veteran minimum ring-chaser of the Lakers’ liking.
Maybe that ring chaser is Marvin Williams — that is, if Williams decides to come out of the retirement that he just announced a month go.
It is not uncommon for professional athletes to go back on their retirement promise and if the possibility of joining a team like the Lakers to contend for a title is there, there is the chance of Williams deciding to give it a go for one more season.
That is what makes him a sleeper target, after all. If he is set in his ways and decides that he really is done, even if the Lakers make an offer, then you have to respect his decision.
Williams would probably not get much playing time on the Lakers but he could be the perfect option to take-up the Jared Dudley role on this team as a veteran forward to help Kyle Kuzma while also adding regular-season depth if needed.
Williams can do much more for the Lakers than Dudley did last season. Williams has a history of being a solid off-ball stretch four and if he gets hot from beyond the arc then he could play himself into big moments.
That is where the potential lies. We saw this year that guys can get hot (Morris) and get cold (Danny Green) and if you are on the hot side of the spectrum then you end up playing yourself into more playing time than you would have gotten otherwise.
Williams is shooting 38 percent from beyond the arc over the last five seasons while averaging 4.3 attempts per game. He got 17.9 minutes per game in the playoffs with the Milwaukee Bucks showing that he can serve a bigger role on a playoff team.
At the very least he is a veteran forward that gives the Lakers regular season depth. In the absolute best-case scenario he becomes a legitimate playoff asset.