Just when I thought the Blazers’ off-season was over, out of the blue, Neil Olshey signed Mo Williams to a two-year deal with a player option for the second year. When I say out of the blue, I mean completely shocking. I had heard rumors about teams maybe wanting Mo Williams, but it was all speculation. There was never a concrete front-runner and there was never a deal signed. I, honestly, did not pay any attention to it. I figured we already had our backup PGs in CJ and Watson. With the addition of Williams, I think it is safe to say that McCollum will not be running point very often. Think Jamal Crawford. McCollum can now focus on being a backup SG and just being a scorer, which I think is good for him. Watching him in Summer League this year, it was clear that some holes in his game came from playing the point. He turned the ball over a lot and it seemed like the offense wasn’t flowing as well. I think this was an excellent pick-up and it solidifies a bench that now looks like it could actually compete respectably against other benches.

Mo Williams played in Utah last year and averaged 12.9 points and 6.2 assists while averaging about 30.8 minutes a game. People want to talk about a CJ and Lillard backcourt and how that is going to be rough for teams to defend. I would argue that a CJ/Williams or Lillard/Williams backcourt will still be quite difficult. Mo Williams has torched the Blazers on a number of occasions and he has shot about 38% from beyond the arc in his past three seasons. So, you have to respect him and you cannot leave him wide open. The number of three-point shooters that the Blazers have now is staggering. It is going to be quite difficult to find a night where they are all off. One player is going to be hot on any given night and I think it will be fun to watch how teams defend the Blazers next season.

So, let me put this in perspective. Here is how our roster is going to look next year.

PG: Lillard, Williams, Watson

SG: Matthews, McCollum, Barton, Crabbe

SF: Batum, Wright, Claver

PF: Aldridge, Robinson, Freeland

C: Lopez, Leonard

That is a hell of a lot better than last year and that roster does not actually make me cringe when I look at it.

So, I do need to upgrade the grade I gave to the Blazers’ off-season from a B- to an A-. This just keeps getting better and better and who knows if we are done. I am not going to say definitively that our off-season is over. I thought so before this deal went down, but apparently not. Olshey, again, leaped on a good opportunity and got him for cheap. Signing him to a two-year, $5.6 million dollar contract with the second-year being a player option is something that keeps our flexibility and it is not a long-term commitment. I think this has been a great off-season and I am excited to see how this team performs this season.

Holy crap, guys…we have a bench!