Shawne Williams was probably the biggest surprise of the season for the Knicks.  Before the season began, there probably was not one Knick fan who even knew who Shawne Williams was.  Williams became a very important member of the team and potentially a very useful player in the future.  He is a free agent and will certainly look for a pay raise far above the $885,000 he made last season.

Williams really came out of nowhere for the Knicks, but it is not like he had no ability.  Williams was a first round pick of Indiana in the 2006 draft (17th overall).  After 2 years with Indiana and 1 with Dallas, Williams was traded to the Nets and then found himself out of the league after being released.  Still very young (24), former Knicks president Donnie Walsh felt it was worth a shot to give the former first round pick an opportunity.  Walsh was familiar with Williams as he was the one who drafted him back in Indiana. Now that Walsh is out as team president, it will be interesting to see if the Knicks are still interested in bringing him back. (more…)