Hawks re-sign Marvin Williams

[DC4]

ATLANTA (AP) -- The Atlanta Hawks re-signed forward Marvin Williams on Friday, their last bit of unfinished offseason business.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported the restricted free agent agreed to a five-year, $37.5 million deal, with incentives that could raise the package to as much as $43 million.
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"A big priority this summer was to retain as many of our free agents as possible and keep our nucleus intact, so Marvin's return is significant for us," general manager Rick Sund said.

Williams averaged 13.9 points and 6.3 rebounds during his fourth season with the Hawks. He was the second overall pick of the 2005 draft after spending one season at North Carolina.

The Hawks largely have kept together a team that reached the second round of the playoffs for the first time in a decade. They already re-signed point guard Mike Bibby and backup center Zaza Pachulia.

Atlanta also bolstered its backcourt by trading for Jamal Crawford and drafting Wake Forest star Jeff Teague.

"Marvin is an important part of our core, and we're very pleased to keep him in a Hawks uniform," Sund said. "As one of our talented and versatile young veterans, he's shown improvement every year in the league."

Williams could have accepted the Hawks million and become an unrestricted free agent next summer. Instead, like Bibby and Pachulia, he decided on a long-term commitment to the Hawks.

 

[The Young One]

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