“I think he’s more comfortable now,” Williams said of Davis’ adjustment to the NBA. “Obviously he played well, and everybody loves him. But he also understands that people are going to judge him differently than other players. He wants to be an All-Star. He wants to be one of the best players in the league. He wants to be a night-in and night-out guy that you can count on. So he’s put the work in. He’s also more vocal, and he’s stepping out there to show our team that he’s not going to sidestep being a leader. I’ve pushed him to do stuff in his second year that he hasn’t been asked to do. And I think that’s good for him, because he’s a special player.”
As Williams explained, Davis’ moderate first-year workload was by design. Even though it may have made things more painful for team and coach from a short-term standpoint, it was an approach Williams believed was best for the budding player.
“He was the No. 1 pick – that in itself brings a different kind of pressure,” Williams said. “But that’s OK. That’s what you want. That means he’s a gifted player and people expect a lot out of him. And at the same time, it’s my job to limit that pressure and manage the expectations. I thought I did that last year, maybe to my detriment. But for him to be the best player he can be, I thought we had to tail it off a little bit. Now I think we can kind of push him out there and say, ‘Hey, let’s go.’ I think he’s more prepared for it now.”
http://www.nba.com/pelicans/blog/davis- ... cans-72313
Training wheels off. Reigns loosened.
