BOSTON – Book a room for rookie Frank Williams in Charleston. After the point guard had successful surgery on his broken left wrist yesterday at Beth Israel, a relieved Knick contingent said it expects the first-round pick out of Illinois to be ready for training camp Oct. 1.
Williams, who broke his wrist Tuesday night in a summer-league match vs. the Timberwolves, should have full use of his wrist in 9-to-10 weeks. That was the low end of the timetable and makes him ready to get on the court in late September. However, the chance of him earning the starting job over Charlie Ward and Howard Eisley has been greatly impaired.
Worse, Williams’ wrist problems are nothing new. He had a minor fracture to the exact bone last summer. Williams said last week that a team that passed on him in the draft told his agent it feared his wrist was still broken. Williams denied it, though it probably contributed to his fall to the 25th pick.
Wednesday night, when brass learned Williams’ wrist was fractured, it feared he could miss four months – all of training camp and the first few weeks of the season.
Still, the injury is a setback for a player Don Chaney, who threw the starting job wide open, hoped would battle Ward and Eisley for playing time. Williams played just two summer-league games and will miss the last four. And it’s uncertain what kind of shape he’ll be in.
“The big thing to me is that he’ll be ready for training camp,” Chaney said. “You hate the fact he got hurt but he should be ready by training camp. He could have really benefited from this setting with an opportunity to play big minutes, make adjustments, get used to playing at a different level. Hopefully he has enough under his belt where he learned something.”
Layden said it was “very positive news” that Williams should be back for camp.
“It’s unfortunate he had the wrist injury,” Layden said. “The good news is it happened now, not later on. He has time to recover and heal and get ready for the season. When you have a young player, there’s things that come up and you see how players react to him. It’s a bump in the road, but we’ll see what education is drawn from this.”
Layden indicated Williams’ return for training camp eliminates his need to delve into the mid-level free-agent market for a point guard he likes, such as Troy Hudson or Rod Strickland. But the Knicks still are looking at trading for an elite point guard: Andre Miller, Baron Davis and Nick Van Exel.
“Our posture hasn’t changed in needing a big and a small,” Chaney said. “We’re still trying to shake a bush. Hopefully something falls loose for us.”
Williams will be in a cast for six weeks, but won’t be able to do drill with the coaches until late September. “Once the cast is removed, he’ll get the cardio going,” Chaney said. “The biggest thing he’ll suffer from is basketball timing.”
Layden was encouraged that after Williams’ shaky five-turnover debut, he bounced back with a strong game versus the ‘Wolves. “That shows he has substance,” he said.