Does Williams get it? (split)

[hrdboild]

The main problem I see with Williams when he's on the floor is that his confidence wavers. When he's on he's got a solid outside jumper, the ability to post up and finish inside, good effort on the boards, and like McLemore he's always a threat on the fast break. He's also got the right size and athletic profile to defend anyone at the SF position. He's not elite in any one area, but he doesn't really have any holes in his game either. Trouble is he seems too comfortable deferring to other players. It was the same story in college really, he was just so much more talented than everyone else on the team that they made an effort to find him with the ball anyway. Then you compound that lack of aggression with other small issues -- he's not consistent enough on his release for his jumper to be a reliable threat at this level, he's never shown any particular talent for using his ball skills to set up anyone else, his team defensive awareness needs work -- and he's just not prepared to be effective in a support role right now. These are fixable issues, and maybe that's where the question of motivation comes in. Entering his fourth year now, you'd hope he would have figured something out but he seems to be the same player that he was coming out of Arizona.

To be anything other than a garbage time All-Star in the NBA he's got to do one of two things (1) tighten up the skills necessary to settle into a backup role -- get that release point down, learn the offense and defensive schemes inside and out or (2) stop playing tentative and show that he can be a go-to option every night. We had a similar type of player here once upon a time with Gerald Wallace. Ultimately Wallace did figure it out, but he had to go to a last place team with a huge talent gap to do it. That probably would have been the best thing for Williams as well. I don't feel good about his chances of figuring this out backing up Rudy Gay, but it's up to him really.

 

[dude12]

To answer the question, no, I don't think he gets it. I think his basketball IQ is low and worst of all, he doesn't give full effort all the time. It takes zero talent to give effort all the time.

 

[kingsboi]

All he really is at this point is potential and inconsistent. I suppose we can roll the dice on him for one more season and see how or if he fits in any future plans. As for this season, he should be used off the bench primarily to score the ball, take the ball to the hoop since that is his strong suit and limit the three point shots. We probably won't see much defense out of him either because he takes too many plays off or he is physically incapable of doing so for long durations.

 

[TonyTouch21]

All he really is at this point is potential and inconsistent. I suppose we can roll the dice on him for one more season and see how or if he fits in any future plans. As for this season, he should be used off the bench primarily to score the ball, take the ball to the hoop since that is his strong suit and limit the three point shots. We probably won't see much defense out of him either because he takes too many plays off or he is physically incapable of doing so for long durations.

Derrick Williams is playing his last season of his rookie contract, $5,293,080. In this year he Needs to show out! I think his saving grace playing behind Rudy is playing exceptional defense. Locking down SF's, play "team" defense, or get "team steals", and running the break and get on SportsCenter. His potential is drying up fast. If he doesn't impress, here or get traded to somewhere else, he may never make 5M/year Ever.

 

[KingMilz]

Clearly he doesn't, but in saying that I would give him every chance until the end of the season or a trade to prove himself rather than playing Casspi over him. I agree with the posters above the effort thing really annoys me a lot of the time.

 

[Albatros]

He's almost invisible at times, you can go long stretches and forget he's on the court, then once every 10-12 games he'll get 15 points with ease and you remember he's still a King.

while his passivity is the main issue, you've also got to question how he's being used, does coach put him in the right positions, does he get touches in the right areas, the right matchups? He's coming off the bench last year on a team with a desperate need for bench scoring and I can barely remember him even attempting shots (I know he did)

He was the same in summer league, he makes everything look hard, he disrupts rhythm he's a ball stopper. I honestly only like him at the foul line extended taking bigger PF's off the dribble, I HATE seeing him put up three's, his post moves are atrocious, worse than Blake Griffin if thats possible.

defensively I don't think there's a position he can defend well.

ugh.

 

[KingMilz]

He's almost invisible at times, you can go long stretches and forget he's on the court, then once every 10-12 games he'll get 15 points with ease and you remember he's still a King.

while his passivity is the main issue, you've also got to question how he's being used, does coach put him in the right positions, does he get touches in the right areas, the right matchups? He's coming off the bench last year on a team with a desperate need for bench scoring and I can barely remember him even attempting shots (I know he did)

He was the same in summer league, he makes everything look hard, he disrupts rhythm he's a ball stopper. I honestly only like him at the foul line extended taking bigger PF's off the dribble, I HATE seeing him put up three's, his post moves are atrocious, worse than Blake Griffin if thats possible.

defensively I don't think there's a position he can defend well.

ugh.

If they could somehow convince him on offence to play like say Shawn Marion where all he has to worry about is using the size/athletic ability at the 3 to crash the glass and move without the ball for easy lobs/cuts it would help him and us (cause we are lacking in those kind of players) a lot. To me you got to stop him from doing anything complicated under any circumstance, just make the game easy for him the less he tries/does the more he will actually do. The only sort of complicated thing I would encourage him to do is when he get's a defensive board to push the ball hard he actually showed he's somewhat capable of doing that.

 

[Kingster]

I think he's a bust. PDA rolled the dice and it came up snake eyes. Unfortunately, he is a tweener who doesn't have the basketball instincts or the competitive desire.

 

[MizzouKing]

I think he became a bust once we brought in Rudy. As a starter with opportunity to flourish I think he would have made bigger strides. As a benchwarmer, well....not so much. Comparing this lost likely progress to what Rudy brings to the table, I'd still call it a good trade. Still, I feel bad for D-Thrill and what could have been. As other's have noted, though, his improvement and future is in his own hands. He has everything he needs to turn things around, if he just wants to badly enough.

 

[Prince_XY]

There were times (before we got Rudy Gay) that Williams have shown to be the answer at SF. Also, and as it seemed true with JT, the me-first and very selfish Isaiah Thomas running the team did not help them bring their best games. The incoming not-too-selfish PGs in Collison and Session might help a lot.

There is still that possibility Williams can finally prove his worth. He is after all that talented to be drafted second overall four years ago.

 

[Kingster]

Oh no. Now Thomas is the reason behind the inefficacy of D-Will. I'm looking forward to how IT has contributed to global warming.

 

[c-webb1s#1]

Oh no. Now Thomas is the reason behind the inefficacy of D-Will. I'm looking forward to how IT has contributed to global warming.

I'd be willing to argue that more ball movement is exactly what a player like D-will needs. He's not a spot up shooter, he would be better served getting involved in the offense and not watch Cousins,Gay, or Thomas shoot 15-20 times a game.

 

[Kingster]

I'd be willing to argue that more ball movement is exactly what a player like D-will needs. He's not a spot up shooter, he would be better served getting involved in the offense and not watch Cousins,Gay, or Thomas shoot 15-20 times a game.

The guy looked awful in summer league of all places. Did Isaiah, Gay or Cousins play in the summer league?

 

[c-webb1s#1]

The guy looked awful in summer league of all places. Did Isaiah, Gay or Cousins play in the summer league?

Well ya got me on that one....got no answers...

 

[sdballer]

The guy looked awful in summer league of all places. Did Isaiah, Gay or Cousins play in the summer league?

Also never looked that great playing with a pg like Rubio.

 

[HereWeBoogie]

his jumpshot has extremely strange mechanics and is very inconsistent. I don't see him being able to correct it dramatically. I also don't see him ever being more than a decent backup SF/PF tweener

 

[Capt. Factorial]

The guy looked awful in summer league of all places. Did Isaiah, Gay or Cousins play in the summer league?

Not this year, of course.

 

[jcwkings]

Is everyone expecting us to look like 01 kings because IT is gone? Cousins and Gay are both iso heavy players so expect a heavy dose of pass it to one of them and get out of the way, especially if role players arent playing up to snuff and we rack up a bunch of losses(highly likely). That and Collison and Sessions are both scoring guards as well, not as much as IT, but they arent Rubio or Nash types either, not to mention neither has ever proven they can run an NBA team.

Williams is terrible, he gives effort if he is getting 30 minutes and 15 shots a game, otherwise he is a complete pedestrian, low IQ basketball player. He should watch Shaen Marion tapes because a poor mans version of the Matrix is what will keep him in the league. If he could come off the bench for 15-20 minutes, hustle, defend, run the break, he would be useful. That is a far cry at this point though.

 

[upinsmoke]

Just for fun here's a highlight reel of D-Will's year with us. I know a lot has already been said about Williams producing only when he gets mins and that may be true but at least to the eye test he played really well when paired with the starting lineup especially with Ben on the break those two are gunners.

 

[IfAt1st]

while his passivity is the main issue, you've also got to question how he's being used, does coach put him in the right positions, does he get touches in the right areas, the right matchups?

These are highly-trained professionals who have dedicated their lives and received tens of thousands of hours of custom instruction.

If they need to be hand-held in the NBA and shown how to use their body and skills to succeed at this level, they are not cut out for success.

 

[beb0p]

What exactly is Derrick Williams' niche in the NBA? I honestly can't think of one. He is neither a scorer nor a defender. He is not a hard-working blue collar guy. He is not a deep ball specialist. He is not a shot blocker nor a good rebounder. He doesn't rack up steals. He doesn't get many assists. He is not a post player and he is not a slasher. And to top it off, he doesn't even have a position. I think he is this close to being out of the league. And I think he is one of the luckiest guy in the world that he made millions playing a game that he isn't very good at.

 

[Albatros]

These are highly-trained professionals who have dedicated their lives and received tens of thousands of hours of custom instruction.

If they need to be hand-held in the NBA and shown how to use their body and skills to succeed at this level, they are not cut out for success.

If thats true why have a coach at all? Just let the players go out there and use their "skill." I see what you're getting at but thats not really how it works is it.

 

[The Hammer]

What exactly is Derrick Williams' niche in the NBA? I honestly can't think of one. He is neither a scorer nor a defender. He is not a hard-working blue collar guy. He is not a deep ball specialist. He is not a shot blocker nor a good rebounder. He doesn't rack up steals. He doesn't get many assists. He is not a post player and he is not a slasher. And to top it off, he doesn't even have a position. I think he is this close to being out of the league. And I think he is one of the luckiest guy in the world that he made millions playing a game that he isn't very good at.

Easy.

Pac-10 player of the year doesn't exactly scream "not very good".

I think this is kind of a make it or break it year for Williams. He does have potential. But hopefully he sees that he needs to work harder to maximize it.

 

[dude12]

How many years does it take before you can call a player a legitimate bust? The best coach in the history of our franchise chose not to play him in Minny. He's a coach killer. One of those guys that shows stretches of teasingly good play, followed by bad basketball.

 

[bajaden]

I was a huge fan of D. Will coming out of college. It looked like the world was his apple. So what went wrong? Well the answer is complicated. Like others, I liked him, but I was unsure exactly what position he played. I wasn't overly concerned about it though. Many players come out of college without establishing their future position. Once in the league, it usually all comes together, and sometimes it's a plus to be multi-positional. In Williams case, the very things that were a plus for him in college, disappeared, and the things he was criticized for, became more prevalent. The exact opposite of what you want.

Could all of us that liked him in college be wrong? Yes! And for me, its a huge miss. This is a guy that I would have placed bets on. Great athlete with a very consistent outside shot, but also strong enough to get in the post and bang. He had it all going for him. Believe me, I wish I had the answer, but he's a giant mystery to me. He should be a very good player, but, at least right now, he's not. And I'm starting to believe he'll never be. I watched him carefully at summer league, and I just didn't like his body language. He did nothing to make me believe that any change had taken place. In fact, with where he was taken in the draft, and with his NBA experience, he should have been the best player on the floor. He should have dominated! Instead, he disappeared. At times he looked like he was disinterested.

Sure, he may have been misused when he came into the league. He was asked to play SF, and then a year later, he was asked to play PF, or both. His minutes varied from game to game. He started and then came off the bench and then he started and then came off the bench. Well, welcome to the NBA. Ultimately, its up to the player to make himself valuable to the team. The teams interest is in the money and time they've devoted to the player. If they don't get any return on their investment, then they kiss the player goodbye. I agree with whomever said this is a make or break year for Williams. And at this point, I think he'll need to have a huge break out year to change some minds. The first thing a coach looks for in a player is consistency. Whatever it is that a player is good at, can he bring it night after night to where its dependable. If so, then maybe that player has a place in the rotation. Nothing makes a coach pull his hair out more than a player that gives him a great game one night, and then disappears the next night. I'm not optimistic about Williams future with the Kings.

 

[Prince_XY]

Just for fun here's a highlight reel of D-Will's year with us. I know a lot has already been said about Williams producing only when he gets mins and that may be true but at least to the eye test he played really well when paired with the starting lineup especially with Ben on the break those two are gunners.

In this highlight reel, Cousins really looks like the best passing big in the NBA now. Reminiscent of C. Webber - only taller and bigger. The Kings future really looks bright with Cousins as our Franchise player.

 

[FaStRmAn]

I think Derrick Williams is a Twener Bust. He has athleticism but does not have the drive and determination to utilize his skills. He shows spurts of talent because of his natural abilities, but low BBIQ along with work ethic seems to cause him to disappear for large stretches of games and even for multiple games. Just not motivated enough to do the work needed to improve and stick in the NBA. Too bad. Real waste of potential talent.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

Just for fun here's a highlight reel of D-Will's year with us. I know a lot has already been said about Williams producing only when he gets mins and that may be true but at least to the eye test he played really well when paired with the starting lineup especially with Ben on the break those two are gunners.

If he can somehow harness that mojo that he had going, when he was first traded and was starting, we could see a huge turn around.

It's all mental for him. It would be cool to see him figure it out and get Arco rocking like he did on that tomahawk throwdown against the Clippers. I'm not sure what it was, but he had a killer look in his eyes against the Clipps

 

[CruzDude]

That's why they call this is "contract" year. If he can breakout, he gets a contract. And breakout means consistency whether at SF or PF in what might be Malone's "positionless" game.

 

[Spike]

Or he will play for a contract and revert to his old self...I just don't see the linear progression from Williams, but that doesn't mean that he isn't capable of sustaining success.