Remember Marcus Williams? Anyone? Anyone? He was the other guy drafted by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2007 NBA Draft. The 6'7" versatile forward could handle the ball, rebound well for his size and play some solid defense. The only problem is he didn't excel at any of those things and didn't get a ton of run in San Antonio (he spent most of his time in Austin playing for the Toros), or the Clippers the following year, or the Spurs again the year after that, where he again played for the Toros, earning an All D-League first team selection. Now Williams is in the Chinese Basketball Association where he's a star, or at least he was until he was suspended for six months… SIX MONTHS… for testing positive for marijuana (H/T to WOAI's Mike Board for the head's up and Sports Illustrated for the link).
Williams, 26, played for the Shanxi Zhongyu Brave Dragons and will now serve a six-month suspension from the league. He has also been fined the equivalent of approximately $1,500. The CBA season kicked off Nov. 24 and ends Feb. 17 so his suspension will essentially be for the remainder of the season.
According to the report, officials say this is the first positive drug test the CBA has had since they started testing. Not a great look for Williams, who had been a force for the Brave Dragons (CBA team names are the best), averaging 32.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.
I was a bit of a sucker for Williams when the Spurs got him because A: I'm an Arizona Wildcats fan and B: I'm a sucker for all point forwards even if they can't shoot a lick, which Williams couldn't early in his career. Perhaps we'll see Williams again in the NBA or maybe he'll stick around in China, where he's been for three years now. Either way, a six months suspension? Pretty steep for some weed.
Photo: NIUBBall.com/OSports