A day or so back Hoops Hype quoted a piece saying the 76ers may have some interest in Eric Williams, and that they also had a trade exception of roughly $4 million to play with. I checked Real GM and, sure enough, Eric could be moved to Philly without taking anyone back, presumably due to that exception. Assuming this deal could be made, I wouldn't hesitate, since any playing time he gets will most likely affect Joey Graham. My question is this: what uses could such a trade exception be put to by the Raptors, since my understanding is that this normally allows teams over the cap to take on salary in a trade without sending the same amount of salary the other way, and I can't imagine why we would want to do this in the near future unless we were getting back talent way beyond what we already have. Might this help us move Jalen in some way? Anything in this thread will be pure speculation obviously, but what else is one to do with his or her time?

I'm not entirely certain how the whole "trade exception" thing works? I mean, can we turn around and use this exception in another deal? Or does it expire once Philly deals it to us?

Eric Williams has been a bust for us. But I don't think we should give the guy away without getting back a 2nd round pick at the very least.

even if we don't get a 2nd rounder, i think he should be dealt. Why not trim $3.9 mill this year and $4.2 mill next year from our payroll?

That money doesn't come back to us or go to other free agents. Until Jalen's contract is gone, we're too far over the cap to be able to get anything with the Ewill money.

Unless it goes hand in hand with a Jalen trade, we shouldn't dump EWill for mere cap relief.

The more I look at the moves Grunwald made in order to keep his job, the more I feel sorry for Babcock. There's no way Babcock can win. The next two years are complete write offs because we are handcuffed, the most we can hope to do is devlelop the young guys.

If there is any legitimate interest in Eric Williams then I say pull the trigger, it doesn't really matter what we get back because even if he is healthy, he won't play at all with the Raptors.

There may be some interest from Phily for his services. It's unfortunate that we couldn't or won't provide more playing time for Eric. He really isn't as bad as people think he is....

The legend of Eric Williams seems to grow the more he doesn't play.

I was refering to his numbers prior to the trade to Toronto....

Eric Williams is just a guy. I just don't understand why people are wondering when Eric Williams will come back. Why would anybody care?

He was traded by Boston to Denver, then traded by Denver back to Boston then traded by Boston to Cleveland then happily traded by New Jersey in the same year he signed as a free agent for less than the MLE. His career numbers are modest, at best. He is just a guy who is not getting any younger and has no role on this team. So he's actually much worse, not better, than some people seem to think.

Not just yet. Give him playing time, give him touches, change our scoring flow to that of Phoenix (no matter how poor the defense is), and throw Jalen in the mix to inflate his stats as well.

Hey, if we're going to tank the season, might as well go out in style to get a nice pick and value in return for EWill. and Rose?

If we did trade him for the exception, couldn't we bring up Pop Sow and get him playing some quality minutes at C? With his performance in the NBDL recently surely he could use the time in the big leagues...Just a thought

Don't get me wrong...I agree with you, I guess it was becuz of the Vince Trade, that everyone has been expecting something....

dump him into the ocean with all the williams!
ruining our franchise...

I'd like to see him on the floor for one more round before we make a hasty decision.

I think we've seen enough. We will never post him up and let him work around the basket and he's not a good outside shooter... trade him, Aaron, Alvin and Loren for a night at Hooters.

Hasty decision? We'd be getting something for nothing. Not that Eric Williams isn't a solid player, just that he's not contributing here in toronto, so why keep him?

He's not contributing because he's hurt. Let him heal...and see what we get.

the 76ers just waived two players... bot h were forwards, I believe... so they're obviously prepping for a move -- could E. Will be it?!?

^ That's because they are about to sign F Matt Barnes.

^ They should be making room for the return of Robert Archibald.

@ Efman: I personally don't think he's "injured" (or at least seriously). It has been shown thus far that Mitchell has been unable to utilize Eric Williams efficiently. The only possibility for change is if Gene Keady teaches mitchell how to use him effectively, but let's not kid ourselves here.

OK, you explained one of the spots. The second spot could still involve them dealing a trade exception for Eric Williams.

Do all roster spots have to be filled at all times?

^ Teams have to carry a min of 13 players and a max of 15 this year.

One can only hope....