Where do you see Dwill in 5 years?

Dec 26, 2012; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves power forward Derrick Williams (7) drives to the basket during the second quarter against the Houston Rockets at Target Center. Rockets won 87-84. Mandatory Credit: Greg Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Where do you see Derrick Williams in 5 years? That is a common question everyone has heard in a job interview at one point and time in their life. This might be a stretch, but if you look at some of the similarities, I could see Derrick Williams as Antawn Jamison. As a matter of fact I would be happy if he turned into Antawn Jamison. Jamison has been a 2 time all-star, won a sixth man of the year award and played for the US National team in his career. Jamison was the 4^th pick and is now going into his 15^th season. So ask yourself, if you could get this type of production for the next 15 seasons, would you?

Year	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
98–99	47

22.5

0.45

0.30

0.59

6.4

0.7

0.8

0.3

9.6

99–00

36.2

0.47

0.29

0.61

8.3

2.1

0.7

0.3

19.6

00–01

41.4

0.44

0.30

0.72

8.7

1.4

0.3

24.9

01–02

0.45

0.32

0.73

6.8

0.9

0.6

19.7

02–03

39.3

0.47

0.31

0.79

1.9

0.9

0.6

22.2

03–04

0.54

0.40

0.75

6.3

0.9

0.4

14.8

04–05

38.3

0.44

0.34

0.76

7.6

2.3

0.8

0.2

19.6

05–06

40.1

0.44

0.39

0.73

9.3

1.9

1.1

0.2

20.5

06–07

0.45

0.36

0.74

1.9

1.1

0.5

19.8

07–08

38.7

0.44

0.34

0.76

10.2

1.5

1.3

0.4

21.4

08–09

38.2

0.47

0.35

0.75

8.9

1.9

1.2

0.3

22.2

09–10

38.9

0.42

0.35

0.70

8.8

1.3

0.2

20.5

09–10

32.4

0.49

0.34

0.51

7.7

1.3

1.1

0.5

15.8

10–11

32.9

0.43

0.35

0.73

6.7

1.7

0.9

0.5

11–12

33.1

0.40

0.34

0.68

6.3

0.8

0.7

17.2

Career

985

858

36.3

0.45

0.35

0.73

7.9

1.7

0.4

19.5

DWill in just his rookie year would be about on pace for a Jamison like career.

Year	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
11–12	66

21.5

0.41

0.27

0.7

4.7

0.6

0.4

0.5

8.8

Career

21.5

0.41

0.27

0.7

4.7

0.6

0.4

0.5

8.8

Williams got more games, but MPG is very close. In the grand scheme of things, Williams and Jamison are close. To further try and get a grasp on these 2 players and see if they would even be worth looking into, I looked at their physical make up.

Derrick Williams

6’8” – Listed

241 lb – Listed

Antawn Jamison

6’8” – Listed

235 lb – Listed

It would only be fair to go back to the beginning for these 2 players. Williams overall draft evaluation would lead you to believe his offensive prowess was going to be superior. His turnover rate was the only thing troubling.

Strengths

– Outside Shooting: For his height, Derrick Williams might be one of the best shooters at his position, shooting 56.8% from the three point line on 74 attempts. He is also top six nationally in the two advanced shooting metrics, posting an eFG% of 65.0% (6th nationally) and a TS% of 69.0% (4th nationally). In terms of his form, Williams has a very smooth stroke that is easy to repeat, no matter if he is catching and shooting or taking a shot off of the dribble. He takes off and lands in the same area, and his footwork is very good.

– Isolation Scoring: According to Synergy Sports Technology, Derrick Williams is in the 96th percentile in terms of points per possessions in isolation situations, scoring about 1.130 per possession. Part of the reason Williams is so successful when he isolates his man is because he is quicker than most power forwards, but his defender can’t play off of him because of his shooting ability. The threat of Williams taking and making an outside jumper forces defenders to close the gap and not give Williams any space. Because of this, Williams is able to use his speed to his advantage and take the basketball to the rim. Williams is also an above average ball handler and this lets him get to the rim with ease.

– Post Scoring: Once again, according to Synergy Sports Technology, Williams is in the 92nd percentile in terms of PPP in post-up situations, scoring 1.065 points per possession on 50% shooting. Williams does two things very well on the block. He establishes great position without the basketball and once he makes the catch he is able to quickly go up with it before the double team can get to him or before his defender can take advantage of Williams’ lack of size.

Weaknesses

– Turnovers: The biggest problem that I see with Williams on the offensive end is his tendency to turn it over in post-up and isolation situations. Williams turns the ball over on 16% of halfcourt possessions. Where Williams runs into problems is when the defense collapses on him. Once that happens, Williams has a tendency to hold onto the basketball too long, and by the time he tries to get a pass away, there are three defenders on him.

I searched and was unable to find any official evaluations on Jamison. There is an evaluation on him from Draftexpress done back in 2008.

Overview: Drafted in 1998 by Toronto and swapped for ex-teammate Vince Carter on draft night. Jamison went on to become a 2-time All Star for the Washington Wizards. Jamison came into the league as an undersized PF with limited perimeter shooting ability and has developed into a hybrid forward with range out to the 3-point line.

Strengths: Jamison is one of the most creative finishers around the rim in the NBA. He has an assortment of finger rolls, floaters, and runners off the dribble that make him nearly impossible to defend once he’s turned the corner. Jamison’s back-to-basket game is also extremely effective, especially considering his diminutive size as a power forward. Though he’s developed into a very solid featured offensive option, Jamison remains one of the more productive player’s off-ball. He has a knack for creating offense off of transition, cuts, and offensive rebounds, making it easier to run plays for other members of the team. He’s an incredibly versatile player, which allows him to exploit a large variety of mismatches as they appear on the floor. He’s a prolific, and quite underrated scorer. He also has a superb feel for the game and rarely turns the ball over. Defensively, Jamison does a very solid job against the face-up power forwards that are starting to dominate the position.

Weaknesses: Jamison is a very capable scorer and rebounder, but he’s never been regarded as a franchise player. A pretty complete offensive player overall, Jamison doesn’t have a great left hand has trouble finishing that direction. Jamison is versatile defensively because of his size and athleticism, but he’s not considered a great defender on the perimeter or in the post. Against pure post forwards Jamison has trouble denying position and can’t effectively challenge shots. His defense against small forwards is average and limited mostly to other hybrid forwards.

While it is still a young season, Williams will need to get more minutes if we are to try and get an equal sample size to fairly gauge these 2 players.

Antawn Jamison

Season

Age

FGA

FG%

3PA

3P%

FT%

TRB

AST

PTS

1998-99

1058

178

394

0.45

0.30

0.59

301

449

1999-00

1556

356

756

0.47

0.29

0.61

359

841

Career

2614

534

1150

0.46

0.29

0.60

660

124

1290

Derrick Williams

Season

Age

FGA

FG%

3PA

3P%

FT%

TRB

AST

PTS

2011-12

1418

205

498

0.41

138

0.27

0.70

311

583

2012-13

434

168

0.41

0.36

0.73

104

203

Career

1852

274

666

0.41

185

0.29

0.71

415

786

With Kevin Love out due to surgery on his hand, Williams will get more minutes. Derrick will need to take advantage of that time.

Williams has shown the ability to be a scorer that can get to the rim, he just has yet to do it on a consistent basis. If you compare Jamison’s strengths, there is a solid comparison as to what Williams has been able to show. Williams can get to the rim; he has just struggled to finish once he gets there. There are about the same build, a tweener. They are considered a stretch 4. Their defense could be almost identical.

So the question needs to be asked again. If you could get Jamison’s career from Williams, does he become worth the #2 pick?

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