Williams was traded to the Nuggets late Tuesday night in exchange for the rights to 2005 draft pick Cenk Akyol, the Denver Post reports.

EDGE Analysis

The deal was simply made for cap purposes, as it helps the Nuggets inch closer to reaching the league's salary floor. Acquiring Williams, and his salary hit of $2.1 million, brings the Nuggets to roughly $77 million in team salary, $7 million away from the $84 million cap floor. Since Williams' contract is prorated, Denver will only pay him about $400,000 in salary, but his cap hit will remain at $2.1 million. Atlanta, meanwhile, creates a trade exception by dealing Williams, who is essentially retired, despite the fact that he's yet to officially submit his retirement papers to the league office. All in all, the deal is a thinly veiled salary-motivated move for both sides, as it was expected that the Hawks would eventually dump Williams' salary after acquiring him from Cleveland in the Kyle Korver deal. In order to temporarily clear a roster spot for Williams, the Nuggets opted not to sign Alonzo Gee to a second 10-day deal, but with Williams now off the roster, the team could bring Gee back on another short-term contract.