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The NBA is about to embark on a summer of demands.

Commissioner David Stern reportedly wants to reduce the players’ cut of Basketball Related Income from 57% to 45%. The players want fewer restrictions on free agency as well as new guidelines for age requirements. And once all that is agreed upon, free agency can finally begin.

Maybe that’s why Knicks forward Shawne Williams is so refreshing. The soon-to-be free agent outplayed his near-minimum salary this year; but he isn’t making any grandiose demands. Williams is open to practically any deal that keeps him in New York.

"That’s what I want to do," Williams told HOOPSWORLD after the Knicks were eliminated from the playoffs by the Celtics. "I just want to get familiar with one organization. I don’t like the journey, hopping around.

"It don’t have to be long term," he said of the deal. "It can be one year. Whatever helps. I’m not trying to break the bank because I’m not thinking that’s realistic. I’m just trying to get in and play."

There has been no shortage of stories on Williams’ transformation from first-round character problem to the Knicks’ 3-point marksman, but that’s because he continues to impress everyone who thought they knew him. Where once he may have been considered too immature for the NBA, now the 25-year-old is making the savvy decisions of a veteran.

For instance, Williams plans to work with Joe Abunassar at Impact’s training facility in Las Vegas before moving on to the IMG Academy in Florida. He even has his own trainer, but that’s not something he likes to discuss.

"I got a private trainer, but I’m keeping it a secret so nobody will hire him," he said. "I’m probably going to do that over the summer.

"You got to be selfish with your trainers and your court time because you’ve got players here that are trying to get better every day too, and they’ll steal them, quick."

Back when Williams’ days in the NBA looked numbered, he didn’t take conditioning so seriously. Knicks president Donnie Walsh, who was with the Pacers when they drafted Williams in 2006, says his weight may have hit 280 pounds.

"I was overweight," Williams said. "That’s all that matters."

But even now, with his weight at its lowest mark in years, Williams still thinks he can improve his conditioning.

"You know that’s one of my biggest things, getting my weight down," he continued. "I feel like I still wasn’t at the playing weight that they wanted me at. They wanted to take it off slow instead of quick. Hopefully next year I’ll probably be at 230, 228… The weight kind of helped me this year because I played the 5 and the 4. I had to wrestle with bigger guys.

"Bulking up, but at the same time, getting the weight down. More like [Amar'e Stoudemire]. I hope I look just like STAT."

Walsh doesn’t know the terms of the next collective bargaining agreement, which will likely dictate the chances he brings Williams back, but Walsh does know that Williams made a much better impression on him this season.

"He played well," Walsh said. "I think Shawne has done all the right things this year and that’s why he’s having success this year… I think Mike liked his game and that helps when a coach likes his game."

As it turned out, D’Antoni liked Williams because he came into camp early and handled some tough conversations off the bat.

"He came early and that’s what Mike saw and what he liked," Walsh said. "And he earned it… He knew. He understood. I talked to him about it and said ‘Zero tolerance.’ He knew. He didn’t realize when he was younger, but he realized ‘I can’t go that way.’ As far as I know, he hasn’t."

"That was anywhere I went, I knew there was gonna be zero tolerance." Williams said. "It’s not because of them. It’s because of me. It’s because of the past that I had, that I’ve shown. It’s only right what he did. I’m just appreciative that he gave me the chance, the opportunity to get a basketball back in my hand.

"When I first got here, Mike told me, he pulled me into his office and was like, ‘You can try to make this team, but I already have my guys. But you’ve got a chance to be one of my guys with hard work."" Williams continued. "Donnie told me the same thing. When I first got here he was like, ‘Shunnie,’ he always calls me ‘Shunnie,’ he was like, ‘Shunnie, this is different.’ He was really preparing me for the scenario. He was like, ‘[Shawne, you] don’t get a guaranteed contract. Now you’ve got to go out and work for it.’ So from there to now, it’s about a hundred or so miles. I’m proud of myself actually."

And there’s plenty to be proud about. Williams played two new positions (power forward and center), and hit a career-high 40.1% of his 3-point attempts. His rebounding rate (percentage of possessions that end in a rebound), also hit a career high of 15.5.

"I hope it’s a case where the bad things that happened to him, turned him around," Walsh said.

There’s little argument there. Williams may have behaved selfishly when he was getting arrested for marijuana and codeine earlier in his career, but he’s not behaving that way now. Williams understands that the Knicks have done more for him than he could ever do for the franchise. That’s why he isn’t making any demands—just asking for a chance to continue this season’s hard work.

"I don’t know what coach is thinking, I don’t know what Donnie’s thinking," Williams said. "I just want to thank Donnie for even giving me the opportunity. If it weren’t for him and coach D’Antoni, there’s no telling where I’d be right now. I’d be watching all this on TV… I wouldn’t have gotten a start in The Garden. I’m really thankful."

Early Entrants List

The early entrants for the NBA Draft have been named.

In total, 89 players including 69 collegiate athletes and 20 from outside of the United States will be available for the June draft.

Several freshman declared, including Midland JC power forward Roscoe Davis, Tennessee forward Tobias Harris, Duke point guard Kyrie Irving, Kentucky’s Terrence Jones, Brandon Knight and Enes Kanter (sorta), Texas’ Corey Joseph and Tristan Thompson, as well as Illinois swingman Jereme Richmond.

The big names among the internationals include 7-0 Lithuanian power forward Donatas Motiejunas, his countryman, 6-11 center Jonas Valanciunas and 6-11 Serbian forward Jan Vesely.

Check out HOOPSWORLD’s latest mock draft with the early entrants included.

{AUTHOR_BOX}Lockout Threatening Olympic Qualifiers?

Since players want to compete internationally without the financial risk that injuries bring, the NBA lockout is posing a threat to Olympic Qualifying teams.

If the CBA expires, writes Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today, national teams won’t be able to afford the typical 41-game deductible on the players’ contracts. The players’ contracts are already insured, but international teams pay an additional premium for "career-threatening injuries."

Since contracts are suspended in a lockout, Zillgitt writes, there wouldn’t technically be anything insure.

It will be interesting to see if the recent NFL rulings will help the NBA avoid a lockout, while preventing the Olympic Qualifying teams from losing their top talent.

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