Kings interested in Robert Williams
- Thread starter Tetsujin
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It's a risk-reward play, I suppose. The obvious match on our side would be Huerter - I don't know if Portland would care about having Huerter but with Clingan and Ayton in place I'm not sure there's much floor time available for Williams, and he's coming off knee surgery #3 (both legs) so they could probably part with him without too much pain.
If healthy he's a smallish pure C, won't stretch the floor, basically a defense-and-dunks guy. I know I made an argument that suggested potentially pushing Domas to the 4 to accommodate a 7'5" rim protector with a post game, but a 6'9" rim protector without a post game? If he came off the bench opposite Domas, he'd bring good energy there, but not see a lot of minutes. If he played *with* Domas, we'd be pushing Keegan to the 3 and DDR to the 2 and Ellis to the bench with Monk and Carter (when healthy) playing three-guards with Lyles and one of [Len/McDaniels/Robinson] getting the 10th-man minutes. Could work if Domas dedicates himself to his outside shot.
Great player when he plays. But as a bit of a tough fit and coming off a surgery, I'm not interested in breaking the bank for him. Huerter and maybe eat a small contract they don't like, but I'm not sure I want to include a pick with his injury history.
If healthy he's a smallish pure C, won't stretch the floor, basically a defense-and-dunks guy. I know I made an argument that suggested potentially pushing Domas to the 4 to accommodate a 7'5" rim protector with a post game, but a 6'9" rim protector without a post game? If he came off the bench opposite Domas, he'd bring good energy there, but not see a lot of minutes. If he played *with* Domas, we'd be pushing Keegan to the 3 and DDR to the 2 and Ellis to the bench with Monk and Carter (when healthy) playing three-guards with Lyles and one of [Len/McDaniels/Robinson] getting the 10th-man minutes. Could work if Domas dedicates himself to his outside shot.
Great player when he plays. But as a bit of a tough fit and coming off a surgery, I'm not interested in breaking the bank for him. Huerter and maybe eat a small contract they don't like, but I'm not sure I want to include a pick with his injury history.
There'd be zero reason to include a pick with Huerter. The Blazers need shooting and Williams is a huge question mark due to his injury history, not to mention their logjam of centers. If anything the Kings should be asking for a sweetner if those are the basic parameters of the deal.
I'd be asking for one of their young 4/5 players like Reath, Walker, or Camera.
I'd be asking for one of their young 4/5 players like Reath, Walker, or Camera.
It may slightly help and would be good insurance if Len or Sabonis get hurt too. All in all, he doesn't provide much of anything that Len doesn't already provide though. He's more bouncy, better rim protector, roll guy sure but Len's also bigger, sets better pics, knows system, etc. For the 12 minutes behind Sabonis, both are comparable. Not really a needle mover and personally, losing Huerter would be more of a loss than adding Williams would be a gain I think, especially considering Carter is out for the season basically. Kings would be ever more limited in 2-3-4 wing depth.
The starting lineup feels set, assuming we believe in Keon Ellis at the SG position -- which it seems most of us do. That means we're looking for bench depth and/or guys who fill holes in the rotation. Williams fits here as a defensive specialist provided he can stay healthy. I wonder if it would be worth it to have him sit out half the season and just focus on building strength and stability with the training staff? It's unlikely he makes it through an entire season playing big minutes but he's exactly the type of guy we're going to need in the playoffs. As always it comes down to what the asking price would be. If it's Huerter or Lyles we'll need to replace their shooting somehow.
Time Lord has a great feel for the game and good passing for the type of big he is... Too bad he's a guarantee to be injured at some point during a season. If the Kings bring him aboard, we just have to cross our fingers he's healthy for the playoffs. In general, I'd love to see him on the Kings and he would fill a huge need
What is the huge need he’s filling exactly? The non-Sabonis minutes weren’t an issue last year - in fact Kings were unusually better with Len on the floor than Sabonis last year. Extremely rare since usually a team falls apart when their all-nba season is on the bench (see Jokic/Embiid)
Williams is solid but really I don’t see the evidence he’s better than Len. I’m not sure what Len has to do to get credit as a defensive/rim protecting presence to the point the Kings wouldn’t have a “huge need” as you put it in those areas in the backup center spot.
Williams is solid but really I don’t see the evidence he’s better than Len. I’m not sure what Len has to do to get credit as a defensive/rim protecting presence to the point the Kings wouldn’t have a “huge need” as you put it in those areas in the backup center spot.
Statistically, Len's major shortcoming as an NBA player is as a finisher, his career average eFG% is around .53 (last year was .62, but he's usually below .60)
This is probably why McGee was acquired last year, (averaged above .60 in 7 of the last 8 years of his career) we needed some offensive firepower off the bench (Monk probably needs a pick and roll partner to be the best version of himself)
Willams has a average eFG% of .73. His availability is pretty terrible, but you can see shades of last season's strategy of combining an unreliable talent with Len's solid, but usually unremarkable minutes.
This is probably why McGee was acquired last year, (averaged above .60 in 7 of the last 8 years of his career) we needed some offensive firepower off the bench (Monk probably needs a pick and roll partner to be the best version of himself)
Willams has a average eFG% of .73. His availability is pretty terrible, but you can see shades of last season's strategy of combining an unreliable talent with Len's solid, but usually unremarkable minutes.