The New York Knicks have been awarded exclusive rights to negotiate with veteran guard Jason Williams through Aug. 6 after putting in a waiver claim Friday, according to NBA front-office sources.

In February, his agent, Dan Tobin, said the 10-year veteran was determined to come back in spite of the ruling that prevented Williams from latching on with a contender late last season.

"We anticipated this decision," Tobin said then. "So did Jason. But we look forward to seeing Jason back in the NBA in the 2009-10 season.

"One of the reasons we applied for reinstatement now was that we'd like to try to accelerate the process of him coming back."