Riders sign Williams; Wright and Martin are released

Well that's a first... Don't think I've ever seen a player get his shot blocked in his own highlights before. Full marks for honesty I suppose.

A pretty like for like switch by the looks of it though Williams is a little bigger and has better pedigree (not that Martin looked bad on a bit of paper). Had a really good college career. Was a highly productive player right from his freshman year and did well last season in a decent league, on a team that made the second round of Europe Cup. I think a BBL team would do well to sign an import big with a significantly better CV. He's certainly the most impressive one we've signed for... a long time. In many respects, he looks a lot like the kind of player I was hoping to see put pen to paper over the summer.

Only worry I have is his lack of activity. Initially signed with a Polish top flight team this season but never made a competitive appearance. It's a little difficult to tell from my clumsy Google translation but according to THIS it sounds like he either turned up with a pre-existing injury which he hadn't told the club about, or was injured very early in preseason training. The club apparently then had a bit of trouble getting rid of him. I find all of that a bit concerning, and certainly a little ironic given some of the things that have happened at Riders in recent seasons. But provided he turns up in shape and ready to go, this does look like someone with the potential to make a significant impact in the BBL.

Glad the TrayVonn episode has apparently, at last, been resolved. As disappointing a fall from grace as this is for a guy who not long ago looked like he might be heading for an upper echelon European career, I think this could be a decent short term move. He'll make a few quid out of it and if he can prove his fitness and demonstrate that his game hasn't completely evaporated over the last year and a half, I have to imagine he'd have a pretty good chance of getting a decent offer from a BBL team next season. Which, if he's intending to base himself in the UK for the foreseeable future, is presumably the best he can hope for. Incredible how badly TrayVonn's Riders return has gone. Seems pretty clear he has no future with us now but I do hope he can land on his feet and ultimately get his career back on track.