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With the NBA Finals going on, the offseason for many teams has already begun albeit with little fanfare. For the Philadelphia 76ers, the news of Lou Williams opting out of his contract to become an unrestricted free agent certainly commands attention.
Williams was one of the best players in the league this year coming off the bench, averaging 11.5 points per game and playing excellent defense.
According to Bob Cooney via our Sixers blog Liberty Ballers, the interest in Williams is very significant.
A league source said that the interest in Williams throughout the league is "significant" and that a contract to land him could be "in the Thaddeus Young range." Before this past season Young signed a 5-year deal worth close to $43 million.
"It's impossible to gauge (how much a team would be willing to pay) because there is are so many teams who have money and Lou certainly is a good player," said Thorn. "The natural inclination is for teams who have money to spend some of it, of course. The last couple of years there are a lot of teams that have gotten way under the salary cap and I'm sure that Lou will get some interest from teams."
If Philadelphia doesn't retain Williams, they'll need to find a backup to Jrue Holiday. It would be near impossible to pay Williams starter money considering he doesn't play those type of minutes. The Sixers might be wise to move on, even if it means losing a very nice player.
For more on the Sixers, please be sure to check out our blog Liberty Ballers and SB Nation Philly for all the latest news and updates.