Sources: Lakers, Lou Williams agree to contract
The Los Angeles Lakers have agreed to a contract with free-agent guard Lou Williams, sources confirmed to ESPN.com.
News of the deal, which can not become official until July 9, was first reported by Real GM.
Williams played last season with the Toronto Raptors and enjoyed a career year. He averaged a career-best 15.5 points in 80 games to win Sixth Man of the Year honors.
“You can’t leave him open,” Toronto general manager Masai Ujiri said at the end of the regular season. “Sometimes the percentages don’t really kind of show exactly what the impact is but we knew what kind of impact Lou would have. He has helped us win games and helped a lot of players open up.”
Williams wasn’t sure if he would be the same player after tearing his ACL in January 2013. But Williams, who was traded by the Atlanta Hawks to Toronto, was a key component to the Raptors winning the Atlantic Division and posting the East’s fourth-best record with 49 wins.
Williams led or tied for the Raptors’ lead in scoring 18 times, second most for a reserve in the league. In March, he set a record for points in a quarter with 21 against the Cavaliers in the fourth quarter.
He also became a fan favorite in Toronto in just one season and even was referenced in a song called “6 Man” by Raptors part-owner Drake.
“He finished a lot of games for us and helped us win a lot of games,” Raptors teammate DeMar DeRozan said. “He’s a cool dude. Lou Will is the coolest dude in the world. If you can’t tell on the court, now you know. He had a song about him and now he’s got an award to go with the song.”
ESPN.com’s Ohm Youngmisuk contributed to this report
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