Denton: Jason Williams Returns to the Orlando Magic for a Second Season

The Orlando Magic will re-sign Jason Williams to fill their third point guard role, reports John Denton of the team's official website:

ORLANDO – The Orlando Magic have their third point guard – and it is a very familiar face.

Veteran guard Jason Williams and the Magic reached an agreement on a deal that will return him to Orlando for a second season, according to NBA sources close to the negotiations.

Williams, who turns 35 in mid-November, averaged 6 points and 3.6 assists in Magic pinstripes last season. He shot 44.4% from the field and 38.0% from three-point range, which are career-best percentages.

As I documented in this space last week, Williams played well for much of last season when his (infrequent) jumper attempts found the range, but he became markedly less effective late in the year and into the postseason when his accuracy waned. But now, with Chris Duhon seeing a majority of the backup minutes, Williams figures to play only spot duty as the team's third-stringer. He's overqualified for that job, provided his stroke returns, and even then he'll hardly play enough minutes to ever really hurt the team.

It's a solid signing that may signal the end of Orlando's summer tweaks; President of Basketball Operations Otis Smith prefers to carry only thirteen players on his roster, which is the league minimum. Second-round draft choice Stanley Robinson, whom the Magic have not offered a contract, faces an uphill battle in training camp. Smith said he'd "like" Robinson to "force me to carry 14 guys."

UPDATE: Tim Povtak reports the deal is for one year and is worth the minimum salary of $1.35 million.