Derrick Williams: Time to Move On?

[Klomp]

Mark Remme ‏@MarkRemme
Spoke with D-Will about his offseason training. Lost 4 lbs since Summer League, working a lot on drawing contact driving to the lane.

That will be huge for him if he can master that. So many times, including Summer League, I wanted to bang my head into the wall watching him do the Euro stutter step with an extra flip in that missed most of the time. Just go in straight and strong and get the foul.

I thought I read somewhere that he put a little weight back on because he "felt weak" in summer league

His weight lingers in the high 230s, but more importantly, his body fat percentage has dropped from 12.5 percent to about 7.3 percent at last measure.
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Williams got his weight down as far as 231 pounds this summer, but he said that he felt weak at such a low number, so he added a bit more to his frame after summer league. It's tough to notice any added weight, though, which likely came in the form of pure muscle. He's a long way from the 248 pounds he weighed in at last year, and his mental progress might even have outpaced the physical.

http://www.foxsportsnorth.com/10/02/12/ ... eedID=3697

[lobishome]

Williams was starter 15 games at last season.

I can't remember : Was he starter only when Love was injured? Or has he started some game at 3 position together Love?

[Lucky Striker]

Derrick is the uber talented x-factor that could have the biggest impact as a bench scorer and supreme athlete that the team needs. He may be another year away, but he could blow up if he has worked on his game over the off-season.

[thomas1897]

Derrick Williams does he fit into Minnesota's system or not that is the question to be answered. Does he play well along with Kevin Love? His size is a factor. Can anyone respond to these questions. If he does not fit into the system the management should seek the best opportunity to improve the team.

[eyeteeth]

Adelman playing with Williams/Kirelenko at at the forwards should terrify other teams.

There are so many lineups you can build..

There's the guard family:
Rubio/Ridnour/Barea/Shved/Roy/Budinger

Forwards:
Love/AK47/Williams/Cunningham/Amundson

Centers:
Pek/Steamer/Love/Amundson

This team is terrifyingly deep.

[Klomp]

Adelman playing with Williams/Kirelenko at at the forwards should terrify other teams.

There are so many lineups you can build..

There's the guard family:
Rubio/Ridnour/Barea/Shved/Roy/Budinger

Forwards:
Love/AK47/Williams/Cunningham/Amundson

Centers:
Pek/Steamer/Love/Amundson

This team is terrifyingly deep.

EXACTLY why I love this team!

[JustAwesome]

I'm a Derrick Williams fan who is building up some resentment because of the way his short career has played out in MN so far. I just wanted to get a pulse on the fanbase's feelings toward Williams.

Is it time to move on? Do you want him traded? Or do you want him to stay?

I'm in the category that believes Williams can still be a star.

Most fans are more patient with the players than this, so it leads to me wonder if you feel that he's being stifled by the franchise.

[Kabookalu]

This is why it's not always smart to draft best available and work the details out later. It would be one thing if they were playing somebody at PF who wasn't in their long term plans, but we knew that Williams would never have had a spot at PF as long as Love was here and that we'd be playing him out of position. I think he needs to be traded, but he's going to become a star as a full time PF somewhere else, I hope that we can get somebody good in return.

If you weren't going to draft BPA then who were you going to get then? The next 3 bigs selected after Williams were Thompson and Kanter, both PFs, and then Valanciunas, a center (and with the rise of Pekovic there would still be a controversy over minutes). I'd rather take my chances at molding Williams into a perimeter player, which he originally was in high school, than reaching for Jan Vesely (although the prospect of Vesely running the break with Rubio does sound a bit intriguing).

[Esohny]

This is why it's not always smart to draft best available and work the details out later. It would be one thing if they were playing somebody at PF who wasn't in their long term plans, but we knew that Williams would never have had a spot at PF as long as Love was here and that we'd be playing him out of position. I think he needs to be traded, but he's going to become a star as a full time PF somewhere else, I hope that we can get somebody good in return.

If you weren't going to draft BPA then who were you going to get then? The next 3 bigs selected after Williams were Thompson and Kanter, both PFs, and then Valanciunas, a center (and with the rise of Pekovic there would still be a controversy over minutes). I'd rather take my chances at molding Williams into a perimeter player, which he originally was in high school, than reaching for Jan Vesely (although the prospect of Vesely running the break with Rubio does sound a bit intriguing).

The move was trading the pick. Although a number of people would (and did) argue that Valanciunas was the better pick if the Wolves insisted on staying at #2. I'm pretty sure that if you're going to have a "minutes controversy," it's better to have the best players possible to choose from.

[EddyCool]

This is why it's not always smart to draft best available and work the details out later. It would be one thing if they were playing somebody at PF who wasn't in their long term plans, but we knew that Williams would never have had a spot at PF as long as Love was here and that we'd be playing him out of position. I think he needs to be traded, but he's going to become a star as a full time PF somewhere else, I hope that we can get somebody good in return.

If you weren't going to draft BPA then who were you going to get then? The next 3 bigs selected after Williams were Thompson and Kanter, both PFs, and then Valanciunas, a center (and with the rise of Pekovic there would still be a controversy over minutes). I'd rather take my chances at molding Williams into a perimeter player, which he originally was in high school, than reaching for Jan Vesely (although the prospect of Vesely running the break with Rubio does sound a bit intriguing).

The move was trading the pick. Although a number of people would (and did) argue that Valanciunas was the better pick if the Wolves insisted on staying at #2. I'm pretty sure that if you're going to have a "minutes controversy," it's better to have the best players possible to choose from.

It seems that the emergence of Pek strengthens the argument for drafting BPA. Fitting Derrick into a 3/4 rotation - now and in the future - seems a more realistic proposition and on-court benefit than trying to find minutes at the 5 alone for Pek and hopefully developing Valanciunas. Nobody was assuming that Pek was going to emerge like he did, and had we drafted to fill our C need, we'd have had less talent last year, Val over this year (after looking very raw in the Olympics) with his postion looking in good shape for the future.

The claim that the move was to trade the pick is completely baseless since there's no certain value to assume we'd have in return. Maybe you take back salary that prevents use from being able to sign AK, or maybe you move back and pick up another middle-quality asset and project and you're no better or worse off,. Of the players in last years draft, it looks like only Klay Thompson or Kawhi Leonard would have been bigger contributors for us last season, and nobody was calling for them over Derrick.

[Dewey]

Pek was a big man that had full intentions of come to the NBA - and open to MN unlike many other players in the past who wanted to come over but generally preferred the coastal/ethnically diverse communities. Purely an opinion ... . Pek wanted opportunity and got it.

[Esohny]

It seems that the emergence of Pek strengthens the argument for drafting BPA. Fitting Derrick into a 3/4 rotation - now and in the future - seems a more realistic proposition and on-court benefit than trying to find minutes at the 5 alone for Pek and hopefully developing Valanciunas. Nobody was assuming that Pek was going to emerge like he did, and had we drafted to fill our C need, we'd have had less talent last year, Val over this year (after looking very raw in the Olympics) with his postion looking in good shape for the future.

The claim that the move was to trade the pick is completely baseless since there's no certain value to assume we'd have in return. Maybe you take back salary that prevents use from being able to sign AK, or maybe you move back and pick up another middle-quality asset and project and you're no better or worse off,. Of the players in last years draft, it looks like only Klay Thompson or Kawhi Leonard would have been bigger contributors for us last season, and nobody was calling for them over Derrick.

Whatever. The Wolves could have dropped future salary when moving Williams. Or they could have chosen not to waste money on Barea, if you have a worry about theoretical cap space. It seems pretty obvious that taking a player who was arguably better at the time and definitely fit better (and probably still fits better, since I'd argue that drafting Jonas and then just not signing Stiemsma would have been a much better outcome), or moving the pick for a vet, or future pick, or whatever, would be a better outcome than taking a player to either sit behind an all-NBA player or attempt to get minutes at a spot that isn't his best position.

[Worm Guts]

It seems pretty obvious that taking a player who was arguably better at the time

That was a minority opinion, most had Williams as the clear #2.

[Esohny]

It seems pretty obvious that taking a player who was arguably better at the time

That was a minority opinion, most had Williams as the clear #2.

Yes.

[Klomp]

I had a thought. I'm not sure its equal trade value, but its a thought.

I'd be interested to see if Kevin Martin is a deadline possibility. I know Williams for Martin isn't equal value, but what if we added in a swap of Barea and White?

[Wingman]

I had a thought. I'm not sure its equal trade value, but its a thought.

I'd be interested to see if Kevin Martin is a deadline possibility. I know Williams for Martin isn't equal value, but what if we added in a swap of Barea and White?

I don't think Royce has much value right now, and I wouldn't want him around the team. I am a fan of Martin, but would rather roll the dice with Derrick.

[Grits n Gravy]

I had a thought. I'm not sure its equal trade value, but its a thought.

I'd be interested to see if Kevin Martin is a deadline possibility. I know Williams for Martin isn't equal value, but what if we added in a swap of Barea and White?

definite no from me, i'm happy with the way the team is constructed. we have a good situation to be patient with dw. i'm hoping for williams to develop into the forward version of harden, or at least that role - play both front court spots as harden does both guard spots and bring instant offense off the bench behind a more defensive minded player(ak - sefo).

[AQuintus]

I had a thought. I'm not sure its equal trade value, but its a thought.

I'd be interested to see if Kevin Martin is a deadline possibility. I know Williams for Martin isn't equal value, but what if we added in a swap of Barea and White?

Williams for a guy who would be a free agent in a few months is terrible, and Barea for White actually makes it worse (and I don't even like Barea.)

[Krapinsky]

I had a thought. I'm not sure its equal trade value, but its a thought.

I'd be interested to see if Kevin Martin is a deadline possibility. I know Williams for Martin isn't equal value, but what if we added in a swap of Barea and White?

Williams for a guy who would be a free agent in a few months is terrible, and Barea for White actually makes it worse (and I don't even like Barea.)

I don't like the trade either, but I fail to see how Barea for White being added makes it worse.

[AQuintus]

I don't like the trade either, but I fail to see how Barea for White being added makes it worse.

Because White's off court issues are going to be a major distraction for whichever team he's on over the course of his career. Barea's not very good, but at least you can count on him to play and contribute when healthy.