The Sacramento Kings have been in the news as of late with the acquisition of high-flying small forward Rudy Gay from the Toronto Raptors. But that deal, though monumental for the Kings’ future, may not be the most important trade the team has made in the past two weeks. Sacramento acquired the second overall pick from the 2011 NBA Draft, Derrick Williams, from the Minnesota Timberwolves after only 16 games into the 2013-14 season. The Kings dealt lock-down defender Luc Richard Mbah a Moute to the T-Wolves for Williams after a very disappointing two years in Minnesota. The T-Wolves drafted Williams to be a compliment to Kevin Love, but the franchise would have gotten better service from a blind waiter. He averaged 10.1 points a game in his first two seasons with Minnesota, but that was while he was averaging about 23 minutes a game.
A lot of chatter surrounded the once lost T-Wolves about how Williams wasn’t working in Rick Adelman’s system, and he was the premiere bust of the ’11 draft. But the man shot more then 40 percent from the field in his first two seasons. The question that should be asked isn’t if Williams was right for Adelman, but was Adelman right for Williams? Minnesota’s offense is largely dependent upon Love’s ability to rummage for rebounds in the paint and knock down the pick-and-pop three via Ricky Rubio. When Minnesota acquired Kevin Martin in the off-season, Williams’ role was sure to decrease more. There just aren’t enough shots to go around when Love is jacking up 15 to 20 shots a game. Martin is tossing up about 17 shots a night too.
Maybe if Williams got a chance to touch the ball, he’d undergo a “Monstar” effect, and the talent would shoot through him. We’ll never know if Williams could have turned it around alongside Love, Rubio and the rest of the Adelman gang. Instead, Sacramento saw an opportunity. Since they obtained the 6-foot-8, versatile power forward, the Kings have gone 2-4. It’s worth mentioning, however, that their four losses were by an average margin of four points. In the Kings’ 112-97 victory against the Dallas Mavericks Monday, Williams had a career high in points with 31 — on 16 shots. ‘Tis called efficiency, ladies and gentleman. In 35 minutes, he also added five rebounds and five steals. Kings fans should be smirking like Wylie Coyote when he concocts another “brilliant” scheme to catch the roadrunner. Okay, maybe that’s a bad analogy for Sac-town, but there’s potential.
With an emerging star center in DeMarcus Cousins, the Kings have their franchise player. Cousins was close to being traded last year. Now he’s averaging about 22 points and 10 rebounds a contest. When you add in Gay and a rookie guard with a high ceiling, Ben McLemore, Williams has an opportunity for a fresh start as a go-to scorer. When Cousins draws double-teams in the paint, he’ll look to the wings for Williams’ three-point stroke. When the defense collapses on Gay as he drives to the rim, he’ll kick it out to Williams for the bucket. The team is built to contend for years to come.
Williams is only 22 years old. The way conversations have gone about his young career, you’d think he’s already past his prime. With Isaiah Thomas (version 2.0) at the point, this squad is only missing chemistry. Don’t be surprised if, within the next two years, the Kings rise up the Western Conference standings. Don’t be surprised also if Williams has a large role in the process.
By Robert Judin
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