LAKERS: BACK TO THE U.S. FOR WILLIAMS GUARD LANDS WITH L.A. AFTER STINT IN EUROPE.

Byline: ROSS SILER Staff Writer

EL SEGUNDO -- The one thing Shammond Williams wasn't going to do was stick around the NBA just for the sake of sticking around. He already had played for six teams in six seasons when he decided his worth was something more than a minimum contract.

Instead, Williams headed to Europe, with an open mind as to what basketball could bring. His first stop was with the Russian club Unics Kazan, followed by a season with FC Barcelona, where he helped lead his team to the Euroleague Final Four.

``My choice to go to Europe was my decision,'' Williams said. ``It wasn't like I couldn't have gotten an NBA job. It's not like I didn't have any offers. I was at a point in my career where I had participated and played for a few teams, and I never had the opportunity just to challenge myself as a basketball player.

``There were times where I would start. There were times where I didn't play. I think there comes a time in your career where you want to see where you are. Being in different situations, and not being given the opportunity to be what you want to be or become, it can sort of take the love of the game away from you.''

Now Williams is coming back to the NBA on his terms. After two seasons overseas, the 31-year-old guard signed a one-year, $1.75-million contract with the Lakers and was introduced Thursday at the team's practice facility.

``I felt like this was the right time and opportunity for me to come back and do the things that I've always been capable of doing,'' Williams said.

Williams said Cleveland, Indiana and Memphis all were interested in signing him. He added that the Lakers had talked to him about a contract last summer but couldn't work out a deal.

The Lakers filled a need for an experienced ballhandler by signing the 6-foot-1 Williams, a bench player with all his previous NBA teams. He has career averages of 6.1 points and 2.5 assists and last played for New Orleans in the 2003-04 season.

``I know the type of offense, I know the type of defense that coach (Phil) Jackson likes to play,'' Williams said. ``Playing against the Lakers for so many years, I understand the role I could play. But it's not for me to say what role I'm going to play.''

He also shoots the ball well enough that some teams have struggled to see him as a true point guard. Williams did average better than five assists per game with both European clubs, something Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak noted to him.

Said Williams: ``Mitch made the statement: `I think that you look to involve your teammates a little more than (you) once did.'''

The Lakers have started Chucky Atkins and Smush Parker, both of whom played for a time in Europe and bounced around the NBA, in the backcourt opposite Kobe Bryant the past two seasons.

[e-mail]

818-713-3610

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

WILLIAMS