Lou Williams was traded to the Atlanta Hawks just before the March 25 deadline, but he took a few days before reporting to the team. On Tuesday, Williams explained why he needed a few days.
Williams, 34, considered retirement after being traded. He told reporters he took some time because he wanted to make sure he was mentally ready for the move. He did not want to be a negative influence upon arriving.
Lou Williams: "But now that I'm here… I've been embraced. The guys, it seems like they want me here. So I'm ready to get back to work. I'm going to make this push and move forward."
— Sarah K. Spencer (@sarah_k_spence) March 31, 2021
That seems to have been a smart and mature way of handling things.
Atlanta had three games after the trade (including Tuesday night’s contest) that Williams has missed. It stinks for the Hawks not to have had him for those games. But if Williams was not ready to contribute, it’s probably for the best that he was not around anyway.
The Hawks have gone 9-3 since firing Lloyd Pierce. They entered Tuesday sixth in the East at 23-23.
