MOVING ON

Mo Williams (front) plays
around with LeBron
James in file photo.

Maurice (Mo) Williams admitted he is one of the most affected by the departure of former teammate LeBron James from the Cleveland Cavaliers, according to Yahoo! Sports. It was actually James who brought Williams into the Cleveland fold in 2008. The 6-1 Mississippi native was so depressed when James left the team for the Miami Heat last July that he seriously considered retiring from the game. Williams said jersey number 23 will be missed so badly in the locker room. After two months of feeling down, he is now back to his senses and ready to move on with the Cavaliers. Williams just won’t let the Cleveland fans down.

“That’s how bad it got. I contemplated it. I really sat down and envisioned life after basketball. …I really saw myself not playing. It just didn’t make sense to me. …It doesn’t make sense to me. As anyone tied to the Cavs, you want to be in denial. You never want to say, ‘Yeah, OK, he’s gone.

“I had to get it off my chest. You get back here to Cleveland, get around the new coaching staff, start a few workouts, get around the young guys and basically accept the fact that we are not what we once were. We don’t have the No. 23 jersey hanging in the locker before every game now.

“This summer was very, very stressful for me. I really lost a lot of love for the game this summer. You play this game for one reason. You play to win games and win championships. I couldn’t understand why a lot of things were happening to our organization, to a really good basketball team. I couldn’t really understand it. And when you don’t understand things, it can really stress you out.

“It’s crazy because ever since [James left], everybody I see, they approach me and say, ‘Hey, you’re going to be able to play your game now. ‘You are going to be able to show everybody what you got,’ or ‘you’re going to be able to do this.’ I was happy with my role. We were winning basketball games. I was coming home every night a winner. Who can’t love that? That is what playing a role on a team is all about. …Everybody can’t be the star. I was perfectly comfortable being that piece.

“We just got to go to work, man. At the end of the day we still have to move forward because the only people who feel sorry for us are the ones who have the Cavs uniform on and whoever is in the stands rooting for the Cavs. That’s it. Everybody else could care less.”