Marcus

Williams

Hawks’ officials will use the workout to decide if either of the two guards are worth selecting over one of the more highly rated forwards that should be available with the No. 5 pick. The mock drafts that are out there vary quite a bit and the Hawks need a point guard, so don’t be surprised to see them take Williams with the fifth pick next week.

Question: If you’re not selected by Boston (at No. 7), where do you think you’d go? Answer: “I have no idea. I don’t know.” Question: Are you going to be nervous if you fall to teams like Golden St. and Philadelphia when you didn’t work out for them? Answer: “I don’t know.” Good stuff.

Williams never had a realistic shot of landing a spot on the regular season roster with three point guards on guaranteed deals already on the books for the 2017-18 season.

“Darrell’s very excited about it,” said agent Glen Schwartzman. “He was very intrigued with the idea of going back to the Mavs, and they wanted him, but we just think that with Marcus (Williams) down for a little bit, it’s a chance for Darrell to come in and play.” Armstrong, who will sign a partially guaranteed, $1.2 million contract later this week, cleared waivers yesterday at 6 p.m. Williams is going to miss some time with a farily serious foot injury, so the team needed another PG.

Armstrong will back up Jason Kidd while Marcus Williams is on the mend. “He is a proven NBA veteran who has the potential to add depth to our backcourt,” Nets president Rod Thorn said.

“I’ve learned that if you are disgruntled, it just makes things worse,” Kidd said. "[I’m going] to be a professional and come out and win ballgames, no matter where it is. Hopefully it’s here in Jersey because I’ve had a great run here, and hopefully it can continue.” When the Nets let Kenyon Martin leave, Kidd asked for a trade. It looks like Marcus Williams will have to wait another year before he takes over running the Net offense.

The surgery included the insertion of a screw into Williams’ foot and he’ll be on crutches for two weeks. He’s expected to be back in action in about two months, but doesn’t get enough minutes behind Jason Kidd to make much of a fantasy impact anyway.

After the MRI, Kidd was administered an epidural to help reduce inflammation surrounding the disc. Kidd, who suffered the injury during practice on Sunday, is expected to return to practice on Monday. The fact that he’s scheduled to practice is a good sign, but epidurals are nothing to sneeze at and his back injury has to be a concern for prospective owners. We’re going to wait and see what happens next week before dropping him in our rankings. With Marcus Williams also out, it’s possible Darrell Armstrong could be the opening-night starter for Jersey.

With Marcus Williams out for at least another month, and Jason Kidd’s strained lower back clouding his status for opening night, Armstrong might open the season as the Nets’ starting point guard. Still, barring a major disaster with Kidd’s balky back, Armstrong has no fantasy appeal.

He’s scheduled for surgery on Monday, but that’s all we know at this point, other than to guess that he’s going to be out of action for several weeks, if not months. That leaves Bernard Robinson and Eddie Gill as the only backups to Jason Kidd for the moment, so look for the Nets to go point-guard shopping. Josh Boone, Cliff Robinson, Eddie House, Nenad Krstic and Richard Jefferson all had surgery last season, so the Nets are hoping that this isn’t the start of a new cycle of them.