[OhCanada-Participant]

 Last year I thought he shouldve entered the draft while his stock was hot. Couldve landed in the late lottery to late teens. He is playing well but is still struggling to assert himself offensively and at his height and size (6’9 240) and in todays NBA bigs need to have some hope to develop a perimeter game. Despite my concerns he is a monster defensively and is shooting an improved 63% while rebounding well although through 6 games he has yet to make a three pointer and is shooting below 50% from the line against mixed competition. He struggled against Arizona as well in a marquee matchup.

Is it too soon to be worried? I feel the longer his game shows no signs of improvement from a skill aspect the lower his stock will go. Theres alot of guys that can rebound and defend that arent getting the minutes because of the new NBA style. Willie Reed, Montrezl Harrell, Jordan Mickey, Kenneth Faried are all guys he is going to soon be compared to without signs of improvement offensively.

 

[GBeeParticipant]

 Williams won’t get drafted for his offense.  He was so raw last year that he would’ve had to come light years just to appear halfway decent at the college level.  The touch, feel, footwork, shot form, decision making, hands, etc just aren’t there. Not only does he lack skill, but he appears to be very TO prone in his limited touches.  I will agree that the lack of progress is disconcerting, but I realize how far he would’ve had to progress to show visible imporovement.  To complicate things, he’s a strictly a C and occupies some of the same spots on the floor as Tyler Davis, who is WAY better than Williams is offensively.

I don’t think its a given that he’ll be good defensively at the next level either.  To me, he’s a C only on defense where he’s a bit undersized, not in terms of length, but in terms of strength.  He looks strong, but he doesn’t play with leverage. He also has lazy footwork and low IQ in space, so I wonder about his ability to defend PnR and perimeter switches.  It’s easier for him to hide on defense and limit his rotations at A&M bc they do play a lot of zone.  He’s an extreme vertical athlete with shot blocking potential, but he’s lacking in a number of areas on the end of the floor that’s supposed to be a given with him.

I look at this site’s comparisons and I can’t help but chuckle. He has more in common with Biyombo than he does with Kemp/McDyess, but unlike Williams, Biyombo played with a consistent motor and strength at the same stage.

 

 

 

 

[Anton123Participant]

I’ll start by saying I haven’t seen too much of Robert Williams yet, but from what I see, it seems he’s actually really improved as a basketball player this year. Last year he was an athlete who was just running around doing whatever seemed right to him: he didn’t box out, he threw up three pointers, took bad shots. This year he’s playing within his role as a defender-rebounder who takes good shots. 

He is shooting 10% better from the field (from 56 to 66) and his per minute rebounding and assists have increased dramatically, and he’s blocking more shots. He also missed the start of the season and is only now getting into a groove. He has yet to make a three pointer because he’s stopped attempting them (3 attempts this season), that’s because instead of playing to showcase his shooting, he’s playing to win and be effective for his team. That shows maturity.

As for the guys you compared him to, none of them have the physical tools he has. Robert Williams is a superathletic tank, taller than Faried and Harrell, and much stronger and more athletic than Jordan Mickey and Willie Reed. This is where his appeal as a prospect comes from. 

 

[HitsterParticipant]

 Williams staying in college would have had the ideal situation of making himself much more NBA ready and probably establishing himself as the 3rd best big in 2018 draft behind Ayton and Bamba. But the likes of McCoy, Carter and certainly Jackson Jnr are certainly behind him in the draft.

If Williams had declared this year I’d have guessed he’d have gone within the rump of bigs who went from 14 onwards unless Portland had liked the look of him at 10.

His game is built on his athleticism, defence and wingspan but having an extra year in college, a team looking at him would naturally expect him to be more NBA ready than a freshman. He has only recently turned 20, so isn’t like a 22/23 year old senior declaring. But he does need to polish up his game to restore his draft status.

 

 

[Author]

Posts