In 2011, Minnesota Timberwolves forward Derrick Williams could do no wrong. As a sophomore at the University of Arizona, Williams was the Pac-10 Player of the Year as he averaged 19.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game in leading the school to the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament. The Timberwolves saw the potential in Williams as they used the second overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft on him. At 6’8″, 240 lbs., Williams is the classic “tweener” as he is too big to be a small forward and too small to be a power forward in the NBA. Since joining the Timberwolves, Williams has been unable to get his footing; primarily because he has been unable to play in Minnesota’s frontcourt with power forward Kevin Love and center Nikola Pekovic. For his brief NBA career Williams has averaged 10.1 points and 4.9 rebounds.
With Love missing the majority of the 2012-2013 NBA season due to injuries, Williams would go on to average 12 points and 5.5 boards as he started 54 games. This season Williams is only averaging 4.9 points along with 2.4 rebounds as he is just seeing the floor for 14.7 minutes per game. Throughout his brief NBA career Williams has struggled with his perimeter game as he is shooting 42 percent from the field and he is just a 29 percent from beyond the three-point line.
The elements that made Williams a tremendous college player have not been transferred to the NBA. While at Arizona, Williams was a tremendous ball handler who was able to facilitate and create for his teammates. Now with the Timberwolves, Williams appears to be a man that is trying to fit his square game into a round peg which could be hurting his overall confidence.
The Timberwolves have picked up a pair of options on Williams’ contract which means that he is under their control until 2015, but with Love being the center piece of their offense is Williams realistically in the long term plans in Minnesota?
The Timberwolves currently have a record of 8-7 which is their best start to a season under head coach Rick Adelman in his three seasons with the team. Although it is early in the season, could Williams bring something back to the Timberwolves via a trade as Adelman and the team’s president of basketball operation Flip Saunders are looking to get this team back to the playoffs for the first time since 2004?
The Timberwolves also have the option to send Williams to their Development League affiliate in the Iowa Energy. Williams is only 22-years old and he needs game minutes in order to improve his overall game but he cannot get that opportunity as he is currently sitting on the Timberwolves bench for the majority of each game. Along with Love and Pekovic, Adelman’s key players for the Timberwolves this season have been small forward Corey Brewer, shooting guard Kevin Martin, and point guard Ricky Rubio. Right now in the Twin Cities, Williams just simply appears to be the odd man out.
Source:Basketball-reference.com
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