Mo Williams almost left the NBA after James' decision
It wasn’t just Clevelanders who were saddened by the departure of LeBron James this past summer.
Mo Williams, starting point-guard for the Cleveland Cavaliers the past two seasons, took the news so hard he even considered leaving the game.
He has three years and $26m left on his contract.
“That’s how bad it got,” he said. “I contemplated it. I really sat down and envisioned life after basketball. I really saw myself not playing.”
Williams, 27, obviously has fond memories of playing with a superstar such as James but few could have guessed it affected him this deeply.
For the past two seasons, he was the second-leading scorer on a team that finished with the best record in the NBA. He was playing alongside a two-time MVP. And last season, he made the
All-Star team for the first time.
“Who can’t love that?” he said. “That is what playing a role on a team is all about. Everybody can’t be the star. I was perfectly comfortable being that piece.”
But their solid results in regular season play never translated into an NBA championship. With Williams and James running the show, the Cavs never even made it to the NBA Finals. Still,
Williams was understandably looking forward to chasing NBA championships with James for years to come.
On July 8th, James announced he was going to the Miami Heat, joining forces with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
Williams described his summer as “very stressful” and one in which he “lost a lot of love for the game.”
In the days and weeks leading up to James’ public decision, Williams was beginning to see the writing on the wall. But he just didn’t want to believe it.
“As anyone tied to the Cavs, you want to be in denial,” he said. “You never want to say, ‘Yeah, OK, he’s gone.’”
But after an offseason that also saw head coach Mike Brown replaced by Byron Scott and veteran center Zydrunas Ilgauskas switch teams, Williams, who says he remains friends with James,
is finally ready to move on.
“At the end of the day we still have to move forward,” he said.
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