The Clippers and Lou Williams agreed Wednesday on a three-year contract extension that could keep the backup shooting guard in uniform through the 2020-21 season, ending lingering speculation he could be moved before the trade deadline Thursday.
“It was nice for this organization to commit to me the same way I’ve committed to these guys this year,” Williams said. “In years past, these scenarios don’t usually go my way, so it was nice for one to go my way and to be somewhere I wanted to be.”
Williams has averaged career-high totals of 23.3 points, 38 percent shooting from 3-point range and 5.3 assists in 51 games this season, his first with the Clippers after they acquired him June 28 in the multi-player trade that sent Chris Paul to the Houston Rockets.
Los Angeles signed Williams to a three-year extension worth $24 million Wednesday. The deal also includes a partial guarantee in year three worth $1.5 million.
This is the most significant move the Clippers have made since trading franchise player Blake Griffin to the Pistons in exchange for Avery Bradley, Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovic and a second-round pick. The Clippers also, of course, traded Chris Paul to the Rockets before the season started, and there's still a good chance center DeAndre Jordan gets traded before the deadline.
Despite all the shifting parts, the Clippers are 27-25 and sit just a half game behind the sliding Pelicans for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
While Los Angeles isn’t out of the playoff race, their Griffin deal was widely seen as a move towards rebuilding. In the moment, it looked like Williams and Jordan would be on the move, too. Now that the Clippers have changed course, it’s not quite clear where this is going.
