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D'Antoni's praise of Williams stuck with SVG, so waiver claim was 'an easy decision'

Stan Van Gundy sees a role for Shawne Williams. And not just for the final 25 games as the Pistons make a playoff push. He's already thinking about Williams as a piece of next season's roster.

"He's got a great value contract," Van Gundy said Thursday after Williams joined the Pistons, claimed off waivers from New Orleans, and went through his first practice. "He's better than his contract. We like to play a good part of the game, two-thirds of it, with the floor spread out and he gives us another guy, so if we hit foul trouble or injury or anything, we've got another guy to protect us and who I think we can go forward with into next year."

Williams began the season as a starter with Miami, staying a starter for 22 games, and averaged 20 minutes over 44 games with the Heat. He was sent to New Orleans in a three-team deal at last week's trade deadline that netted Goran Dragic for Miami and then waived in a numbers crunch by the Pelicans.

"It was an easy decision (to put in a waiver claim)," Van Gundy said. "We had to sweat it out whether we were going to get him, but we were really fortunate and very, very happy."

The need for Williams – a stretch four who shot 40 percent from the 3-point arc while taking more than 60 percent of his shots from distance with Miami – was created when the Pistons dealt Jonas Jerebko to Boston as part of the deal for Tayshaun Prince, acquired to plug the hole left by Kyle Singler's inclusion in the package to Oklahoma City bringing Reggie Jackson to Detroit.

Jerebko's role was to back up Anthony Tolliver as the stretch four, playing in some games but not all of them depending on how much Van Gundy used Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe together. Williams knows his 3-point range is his calling card, but he's ready to do whatever he's asked.

"I feel like my role here is to just do whatever the coach asks of me," Williams said. "Spacing, but I'm going to try to do a little more other than just stand out and shoot threes. I'm going to try to defend, want to drive a little bit – I just want to do everything to help this team win."

Van Gundy enters into this relationship with confidence those are just more than empty vows from Williams, too. One reason he was eager to claim Williams off waivers was the ringing endorsement he heard from Williams last summer from ex-Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni, who had Williams last season in Los Angeles. At a coaching summit Van Gundy organized last summer, D'Antoni, unbidden, told him to keep Williams in mind.

"We were talking about the guys he coached and he just said, straight out, 'If you ever get a chance to pick up Shawne Williams, you want to do it. He's a great teammate, hard-working guy and can really shoot it.' You sort of put those things in your mind and when he got released, we were a little thin at the four after we traded Jonas."

Williams, who turned 29 earlier this month, entered the NBA in 2006 as the 17th pick, by Indiana, after one season at the University of Memphis, his hometown. He admits he's had some issues with maturity, but says the birth of his son, Shawne Jr., 2½ years ago had a dramatic effect on him.

"I know I'm his role model. He looks up to me and I've got to do the best I can to provide for him, because if I don't I'm letting him down," said Williams, who has also changed his diet and lifestyle. "We don't stay young. As I get older, you get a little wiser and you learn not to take this league for granted because it's a revolving door."

He might at least slow its revolution with Van Gundy talking about a future beyond this season with the Pistons. He said Williams fit right in during his first practice.

"He practiced very, very well," he said. "It helps him a lot that, especially on the defensive end, our concepts and Miami's concepts are virtually identical. Even a lot of the terminology is the same. He really picked things up quickly and was good. We don't have a huge offensive package with him yet, but he practiced really, really well."

"I'm ecstatic for the opportunity," Williams said. "Came in and had a fun, great practice. Got to meet a lot of the guys – great group of guys. I feel like it's going to be fun and let's chase these playoffs."