Sean Williams' Year Goes From Bad to Worse

Sean Williams wasn't needed in Phoenix during the All-Star break. His second season has been spent mainly on the bench, with a brief trip to the D-League, so there wasn't a spot for him in the Rookie-Sophomore Challenge on Friday night. So Williams went up to Boston College, his alma mater, ostensibly to take in the Eagles' game with Duke on Sunday.

Somewhere along the way, though, Williams violated the terms of a restraining order against him and got arrested. The problem may stem from the fact that Williams, who was kicked off the B.C. team for smoking marijuana, is barred from setting foot on the school's campus. He's been charged with trespassing. The charge is a misdemeanor, but the speed with which Williams is throwing his career away borders on the felonious.  

Williams got sent to the D-League near the end of 2008, something that should have been a pretty stark wake-up call for a first-round pick in 2007. He reacted to the move by digging a deeper hole for himself, though. He got kicked out of two games and the Colorado 14ers asked the Nets to take Williams back earlier than expected.

Williams played only 21 minutes in 11 games since his return to the Nets, and the team, looking to make a deal, would likely love to unload him. Why anyone would want to take him, though? He's flashed some ability as a shotblocker, but isn't a good overall defender. He can finish plays on the break, but hasn't shown that he can contribute in a half-court offense. Perhaps he could learn those things on a rebuilding team, which the Nets haven't proven to be, but those teams won't have much of value to send the Nets way.

The Nets struck gold with Brook Lopez and traded for Yi Jianlian, which greatly lessens their need to keep giving Williams chances. Unless a trade surfaces in the next couple of days, he'll have the rest of this year to change some minds, but that will probably be it for Williams in New Jersey.