Lou Williams got a hug from Jeff Teague when the former teammates met in the hallway of Philips Arena Friday morning.
Williams, the South Gwinnett High product, spent two seasons with his hometown Hawks. He was traded to the Raptors following the 2013-14 season and signed as a free agent with the Lakers this summer. There were still plenty of well-wishers upon his return to the city.
The 29-year-old Williams has an expanded role with the Lakers. The veteran of 10 NBA seasons has become a mentor to the team’s group of young guards, including 19-year-old rookie D’Angelo Russell. He passed on some of his knowledge to Teague during his stint in Atlanta.
“I’m not used to being one of the older guys on a team so that’s been an adjustment,” Williams said. “… “I think (mentoring is) just natural because of the position that the guards are in. We have a 19-year-old point guard, a 20-year-old guard. We have so many young guys. It’s just natural just to share your experiences with them.”
Lakers coach Byron Scott said Williams’ leadership abilities were a pleasant surprise.
“The one things we didn’t know we were getting with Lou is he had that natural instinct to be a leader,” Scott said. “Watching him interact with some of our young guys has been great. He is a guy who is straight-forward with them because he came into this league a long time ago and he was with Allen Iverson and he’s been with some other guys. He has a pretty good idea what it takes to be successful in this league. He’s been really good for our young guys on the court and off the court.”
Williams is third in scoring for the Lakers (3-15) at 12.1 points a game. He has added 2.4 assists and 2.1 rebounds in 16 games, all off the bench.
Williams admitted it’s been a tough start to the season as the Lakers have struggled in the win column. However, he sees progress as he continues to be a part of helping the young backcourt.
“You have to embrace it if you want to be successful,” Williams said. “You try to help those guys with the learning curve.”
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