Mo Williams Interview (Gordon related)

Was listening to a interview Mo Williams did today and found some things that he said to be very interesting.

First let me preface this and say that Mo didn't miss training camp, didn't miss preseason, and played in 24 games before his injury. He got hurt in late December and came back in early March.

Anyways what he talked about in this interview is that it took him two and a half weeks just to get back into the swing of the day to day work of being a player in the NBA. Said after missing those two months of play he was about 8-9 lbs overweight, said it took him different amounts of time to get areas of his game back, including his confidence. He also said it's tough to come back during the season, I'd think that's because you get little real practice time in season.

He's now been back for a little more than a month, but says he probably will not regain his rhythm or confidence fully until the summer time. Said he's just going out there and playing and dealing with the up and downs. Obviously the injuries are different, but it's just something to chew on.

Thanks for posting this. I've been trying to explain this to all of the Gordon haters. He is having a bad season because he missed so much time. It is what it is. He has the potential to be an All Star next year though, and that is exciting.

It makes sense. Williams is starting to hit the twilight of his career. You'd expect these things from him.

Monty said Eric Gordon minute restriction was done "with hopes that he'd be 100% this summer. We plan on him having a great year next year."

— Jim Eichenhofer (@Jim_Eichenhofer) April 11, 2013

This is why I think Gordon will blow up the league next year, being healthy, in shape, being back in rhythm with no rust and having all the weapons put around him, i expect a 22-6 year for him, while being a good defender and FT shooter.

People who want Gordon gone next season are misinformed and don't know what's best for this team. This was a warm up season for both Gordon and this team.

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Originally Posted by kinglio21093

People who want Gordon gone next season are misinformed and don't know what's best for this team. This was a warm up season for both Gordon and this team.

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agreed.

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Originally Posted by kinglio21093

People who want Gordon gone next season are misinformed and don't know what's best for this team. This was a warm up season for both Gordon and this team.

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Agreed. When a lot of people talk about trading Gordon they propose trades that have us netting average-below average starters and role players in return. Always makes me laugh. The only way I want to trade Gordon is if were getting an all-star or potential all-star in return. I still believe he and AD are the future of this franchise. He finally played a back to back and he did great. He's slowly been coming along all year and regaining his explosiveness and confidence. I cant wait to see him next year.

He's good, but not good enough to justify his salary and the circus. Ship him out to someone who with an incentive to shed salary.

If If. He can stay healthy. I don't see it happening. That's why I want a trade. Too much invested

I'm with 42 and Shelbywmccarty. People here are too influenced by what has immediately just occurred. He has had a decent last few games, now it seems everyone has forgotten just how fragile and inconsistent he has been over the last couple of seasons.

Yeah we sacrificed this season because we knew we weren't good enough to do much this season. Our season is no surprise... it was all about developing the young guys and getting Gordon healthy for the long haul.

As much as some fans wanna see EG gone... the staff has invested alot in him, and they expect big returns on their investment. Me personally i don't think he's a "max player", but it is what it is.

If for some reason the staff is ready to move on from Gordon then I hope the trade yields something that we can actually use to win NOW rather than take 2 years to develop.

We now have room in our cap for one more "max" player, and moving Gordon would give us room for another. Couple those 2 with AD, Ryno, Rivers, and another high lottery pick this year there's no reason why we shouldn't be in position to compete for a conf title for years. Even if we keep gordon We're setup for long-term success as long as we hit big on this draft pick and free agents over this summer.

Eric Gordon is the best player on this team right now. It will be Anthony Davis next season, but Eric is more than a solid shooting guard. He is starting to get the bounce in his step back and once we surround his with a good point guard and small forward that he can hit the open 18 to 20 foot jump shot his assists will go up.
Did anyone see how many open three pointers Greivis missed during the Sac game? Those were all set up by Eric. And there is no need to explain about Aminu's jump shot.

Hopefully he can stay healthy and the coaches give him more prominance on the team next year.

I'm TOTALLY fine keeping Gordon if that's what the FO believes is the right choice.

Burke/Rivers
Gordon/Rivers
Webster/Aminu
Davis/Anderson
FA/Smith

I'll take that all day LONG.

Vasques
Gordon
Shabazz
AD
??? (Pekovic)

That team could make some noise

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Originally Posted by Make It Rain

Vasques
Gordon
Shabazz
AD
??? (Pekovic)

That team could make some noise

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Sorry mate, but if Vasquez is our starting point guard next year we would need nothing short of Lebron Jamed at SF in order for us to compete.

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Originally Posted by kdalw1

Sorry mate, but if Vasquez is our starting point guard next year we would need nothing short of Lebron Jamed at SF in order for us to compete.

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I agree, about the Vasquez part. Still a little confused about Lebron Jamed though.

Everybody in this thread is acting like people who want Gordon gone are only like "he sucks this year so ship him". I want Gordon gone (Though I wouldn't consider myself a "Gordon Hater") for his attitude, his contract, the fact that if he's NEVER healthy then he will always be getting his rhythm back and least importantly he really hasn't been good this year.

Davis is better right now than a healthy Gordon, or at least more efficient.

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Originally Posted by kdalw1

Sorry mate, but if Vasquez is our starting point guard next year we would need nothing short of Lebron Jamed at SF in order for us to compete.

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Vasques is highly underrated on this board.

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Originally Posted by Make It Rain

Vasques is highly underrated on this board.

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He makes some dumb mistakes, but I agree, very underrated.

The people on this board love to overrate other players and downplay our own players not named Anthony Davis.

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Originally Posted by kinglio21093

He makes some dumb mistakes, but I agree, very underrated.

The people on this board love to overrate other players and downplay our own players not named Anthony Davis.

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Yea i dont understand it. In the lineup I posted, he would be our worst starting player. Thats pretty good IMO.

lets just keep gordon and throw the haters out!. They have bad attitudes, they don't seem to want to be here, and their performance has been down for awhile due to some kind of correlative EG knee to poster brain injury. sound familiar:D

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Originally Posted by Mr. Mojo

lets just keep gordon and throw the haters out!. They have bad attitudes, they don't seem to want to be here, and their performance has been down for awhile due to some kind of correlative EG knee to poster brain injury. sound familiar:D

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Are they on max contracts too?

Vasquez is 100% not underrated on this board. He is not and never will be athletic enough to play the 1 at an elite level. Do we even need to mention who the dude would be guarding in the top 6 of the West this season even if we were lucky enough to somehow be in it?

Westbrook/Parker/Paul/Lawson/Conley/Curry. What makes you think we could take 4 of 7 games with such a massive mismatch at the point of attack? Dude can't guard and dude is way to slow to be your main ballhandler. You think you're frustrated now? I hope to God we don't have to watch playoff intensity defense with Vasquez running point, much less defending it.

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Originally Posted by ImSorryMonty

Vasquez is 100% not underrated on this board. He is not and never will be athletic enough to play the 1 at an elite level. Do we even need to mention who the dude would be guarding in the top 6 of the West this season even if we were lucky enough to somehow be in it?

Westbrook/Parker/Paul/Lawson/Conley/Curry. What makes you think we could take 4 of 7 games with such a massive mismatch at the point of attack? Dude can't guard and dude is way to slow to be your main ballhandler. You think you're frustrated now? I hope to God we don't have to watch playoff intensity defense with Vasquez running point, much less defending it.

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BTW, I'm not saying that he isn't capable of playing on a winning team. He just needs to admit to himself his limitations and rely on the talents of others to do what he's currently doing. He could be a great backup PG or potentially even a good SG on a very good team.

I just don't think his ego would allow him not to be "the guy" after all the MIP talk etc...

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Originally Posted by donato

I'm with 42 and Shelbywmccarty. People here are too influenced by what has immediately just occurred. He has had a decent last few games, now it seems everyone has forgotten just how fragile and inconsistent he has been over the last couple of seasons.

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Actually I think back to the few games he had last year. His timing and balance was much better and he hit big shots down the stretch. I'm one to believe that he can return to that form after a full summer. At some point you have got to stick with your key players and not look to trade endlessly.

If anything i think the doubters are too influenced by this forgettable season and can't see the big picture. I mean a player like him should not be playing 30 minutes. He is a 38-40 minute player and his production and play making will return once he is in that range again.

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Originally Posted by RUFshreve

Agreed. When a lot of people talk about trading Gordon they propose trades that have us netting average-below average starters and role players in return. Always makes me laugh. The only way I want to trade Gordon is if were getting an all-star or potential all-star in return. I still believe he and AD are the future of this franchise. He finally played a back to back and he did great. He's slowly been coming along all year and regaining his explosiveness and confidence. I cant wait to see him next year.

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and what would justify us actually getting that in return?....its not to say i wouldnt want that but realitically it wont happen.

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Originally Posted by LouisianaPride

and what would justify us actually getting that in return?....its not to say i wouldnt want that but realitically it wont happen.

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Didn't we try to trade him for Thompson and a bad contract in Biedrins? That's about as realistic as it gets.

Was a rumor. Nothing more. Nothing less.

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Originally Posted by Nola Hornet

Didn't we try to trade him for Thompson and a bad contract in Biedrins? That's about as realistic as it gets.

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i thought we asked for Barnes as well and thats why it didnt go through? i could be wrong.

also multiple sources have said there was little to no interest in him from around the league. I'm all for keeping him to increase his value (cant really get much lower). but dont try to act like the people that want him gone are misinformed or lesser fans because we want to get rid of a guy that hasent proven anything outside of a handful of games.

i just want to know that if he wasent the centerpiece of the CP trade would people give him every excuse in the book?

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Originally Posted by Make It Rain

Vasques is highly underrated on this board.

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The level that vasquez is playing at right now is about as good as he will ever be. It just aint enough to compete in the west.

And for some reason he seems to think that he is the main man on the team. The go to guy so to speak and thats what makes me dislike him so much. I think Monty is partly to blame for this by giving him too much control.

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Originally Posted by kdalw1

The level that vasquez is playing at right now is about as good as he will ever be. It just aint enough to compete in the west.

And for some reason he seems to think that he is the main man on the team. The go to guy so to speak and thats what makes me dislike him so much. I think Monty is partly to blame for this by giving him too much control.

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Yeah telling guys taking a leadership role to tone it down is always a great practice.

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Originally Posted by ImSorryMonty

With all due respect, and I mean all due respect here, I could not possibly disagree more. Why would you look at his small body of work from last when teams didn't even know who he was and discount this year, where almost nightly he's been the focal point of our offense? Furthermore, why would you further fatigue an athlete who's already extremely limited athletically by giving him even more minutes and expect the result to somehow be better?

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The post you replied to (and the post that post replied to) was in reference to Gordon, not Vasquez.

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Originally Posted by ImSorryMonty

Vasquez is 100% not underrated on this board. He is not and never will be athletic enough to play the 1 at an elite level. Do we even need to mention who the dude would be guarding in the top 6 of the West this season even if we were lucky enough to somehow be in it?

Westbrook/Parker/Paul/Lawson/Conley/Curry. What makes you think we could take 4 of 7 games with such a massive mismatch at the point of attack? Dude can't guard and dude is way to slow to be your main ballhandler. You think you're frustrated now? I hope to God we don't have to watch playoff intensity defense with Vasquez running point, much less defending it.

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This is why I want Smart more than any other prospect in the draft this year. The PG's on the winning teams in the west are no joke, and I think Marcus Smart is exactly the player we need to compete with them. Bledsoe would also be very nice if we can't land a top 3 pick.

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Originally Posted by LouisianaPride

i just want to know that if he wasent the centerpiece of the CP trade would people give him every excuse in the book?

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What realistic trade can you think of at that time where Gordon would not be the centerpiece? I don't see any excuses either. Being injury prone isn't an excuse, and taking time to get your rhythm back after being out a while is no excuse. These are facts. Some of us are willing to let more time pass, and some aren't.

People are quick to say move Vasquez (no matter the cost) because he is not going to get any better. But if you move him now YOU WILL NOT GET EQUALL VALUE. He is on a rookie contract. Unless you think the level to which GV has played up to this season has been that of the caliber on a cheap deal, you don't do the deal right now.

People are pumping breaks on moving Gordon, and labeling him the best player on this team. I don't know what games they are watching, but now IS when you trade him. He is often injured, and if he is playing great right now, you trade while the tide is high, because he will get injured again (just as he has every season in the league) and you won't get equall value.

How much more time do you need... i mean its not unrealistic to expect him to give us something by now. Hes going on his 3rd year here. If it aint going to happen this upcoming season then it aint happening.

After next season if he doesnt show anything, what more can we do? I dont want to see davis youth wasted on catering to gordon is what it is with me at least