Former Net Jayson Williams went home Friday after spending the last 26 months behind bars and now he wants to return to the NBA. Read more after the jump.
The news of Williams’ release from Rikers Island, where he spent the last eight months on a drunken driving charge, put a smile on Paul Silas’ face. The Charlotte coach became close friends with Williams when the two were with the Nets in the mid-’90s. “I talked to Jayson about two months ago and he told me he wanted to get back in the league — as a player,” Silas said Friday night in Miami. “We’ve talked a few times since he’s been in prison. The last time we talked, he said, ‘Paul, I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in.’ But I don’t see him playing again, not at this stage of his life.”
Williams turned 44 in February. Silas gave Williams his last tryout when he was coaching the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2004. Although Silas had some interest, then-Cavs-owner Gordon Gund opposed bringing Williams on.
“I just hope he can get on with his life now,” said Silas, who was an assistant with Chuck Daly when Williams played for the Nets and before his life spiraled out of control after a career-ending leg injury. Before being incarcerated at Rikers, Williams spent 18 months in a New Jersey prison as a result of a plea deal stemming from the 2002 shotgun death of a chauffeur at his New Jersey estate with the infamous name, “Who Knew.”
NYDN
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