Clippers sign Lou Williams to contract extension

InsideHoops.com
February 7, 2018

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The L.A. Clippers on Wednesday signed guard Lou Williams to a multi-year contract extension.

“I am very happy to be staying here in L.A. as a Clipper,” said Williams. “It’s a great organization with a positive culture and I like where we are headed as a basketball team. We have a great group of guys here. I have been on a lot of teams and a lot of times these situations don’t always go my way, this one did and I am thankful for that.”

According to the Los Angeles Times, "Williams, who was in the last year of a deal that pays him $7 million, agreed Wednesday to the deal with the Clippers. The new deal will pay him $24 million over three years, but only $1.5 million is guaranteed in the final year of the contract."

Williams, the NBA’s leading bench scorer (22.0 ppg), is averaging career-highs in points (23.3), assists (5.3), three-point percentage (38.0%), free-throw percentage (90.0%) and minutes played (32.5) in his 13th NBA season. He led the NBA in points scored in January (423) and is one of only nine players this season with 15 or more games of 30+ points. Williams has been named the NBA’s Western Conference Player of the Week twice this season (Week 11 and Week 13).

"Lou is an extremely valuable member of our team. Both on the floor and in the locker room, Lou exhibits many of the characteristics that we value. He is professional, committed, and very competitive. We are excited that he will continue his impressive career as a Clipper,” said President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank.

More from the LA Times: "I feel like I'm a quality basketball player and usually quality basketball players don't get moved so much, but I understand," Williams said. "I had a relatively cheap deal. Considering that the numbers that I had, it was an expiring contract and that's enticing to teams trying to make a playoff run and they need bench scoring. I understand the business part of it."

Williams scored a career-high 50 points, including a franchise record 37 second-half points in a January 10 road win over the Golden State Warriors, the highest scoring performance by a Clipper since Charles Smith tied a franchise record with 52 points on Dec. 1, 1990. He set a franchise record with 10 steals on January 20 at Utah, becoming the first player on record to register 30+ points, 10+ steals and 7+ assists in a single-game. On January 26 at Memphis, he became the first player to tally 40+ points and 10+ assists in a single-game off the bench since reserve stats were first tracked in 1970-71.