Remind me why Bamba is better than Robert Williams?

 Williams is a role player at best, not intelligent player, not much feel for the game, you need to define him his task on the court very simpley, doesn’t have own read of the game…

Bamba could be an All-NBA talent if he reaches even half of his defensive potential. It would be like drafting Mason Plumlee over Rudy Gobert. Which did happen… but we all know how that turned out. 

 The only thing separating these two prospects is potential 

Quickest answer, you are not wrong.  Bamba has height and length but very little on court intelligence.  I saw him constantly out of position for defensive rebounds.  He is basically a Floating big who needs to be a monster on the boards to go along with his shot blocking.  Williams is pretty much the same thing but his knock is less about inability and more  about assertion. IMO Williams is more like Clint Capela with better  rim protection while Bamba is a Serge Ibaka type.  

If you want to take a chance on Mo Bamba’s development then that’s on you but the dude will probably just float around on offense while giving you some good rim protection.  I am not sold on his ability to rebound at a high level in the NBA or switch and guard the perimeter.  

 Okay let me explain the difference here excluding wingspan.

Bamba shows more promise offensively. Robert Williams jumpshot has not improved after two years of college basketball. His FT% actually went from 59% as a freshman dropping to 47% as a sophmore this year. His best case scenerio offensively is Clint Capela as a rim running big that attacks offensive glass but even then he would need a great PG to be successful.

Bamba is really impressing people in the predraft process with his iq. Everyone seems enjoy time spent with him because of his character and intelligence. Hes captivating. I heard Bamba he is trying to do as many interveiws as possible to get familiar with his future opponents and get a read on how they think. Hes done 15+ and hes a lock for the top 8 in the draft. Not saying Robert Williams lacks in this department but Mo’s got it for sureand he’s turning heads just like Jaylen Brown did 2 years ago.

Players like Robert Williams are rare in todays NBA but I think they will make a comeback because everyone is getting soft and noone knows how to boxout. I think with Williams you get either Biyambo or Capela time will tell. Still think Bamba is the better prospect.

 Remember when the Clippers had to take out DeAndre Jordan near the end of close games because of his poor FT shooting?  Yeah, it’s a problem when your defensive anchor can’t play during crunch time.

 The wingspan cant be dismissed just because its his wingspan.. Just standing on court defensively his reach is so long that he buys perimeter defenders half a second of time to cheat .. Thats actually a really big deal. Thats why Utah defend the perimeter well. Williams is worth less immediately for not having the same size and wingspan. If he did, maybe you could argue the other way around as they will have a similar job to do as a 5 offensively. You’d still lose the argument though cos Bamba has a better shot.

We are comparing these two players head-to-head.  Bamba will need to actualize more of his potential in his current draft slot.  If Williams slots in at the back end of the lottery to mid first round he is projected more as a backup big to start his career.  

 Robert Williams is a lazy and has low hoop IQ. Very little skills and is significantly older than Bamba. 

Bamba moves his feet defensively, can step out and guard the perimeter on switches (needs a lot of development here still) and guard the paint better than anyone in the country. He’s not a great rebounder, but a lot of that has to do with his tall frame and skinny base. If you look at his build though, he actually has some serious muscle definition which seems like he will be able to add strength just like Giannis did. 

Everyone.acts as if Bambas main upside is Gobert, but honestly to me that’s his average. You’re talking about a guy who IMO could protect the paint like Rudy, move around like he’s Tyson Chandler, finish lobs like he’s Dwight Howard, and hit the three like he’s Myles Turner.

His low end? Clint Capella.

 If you question why Williams isn’t as high as Bamba, you could ask why isn’t Williams as high as JJ, Carter even Bagley etc?

Bamba in my opinion has way more upside he could be a guy who makes a team alter the shots they take, Williams is more an old school big who may crash the boards etc. Williams is still a good player but I had hoped he could push on by staying another year in college and become one of the top 3 bigs in this year’s draft. That is unlikely to happen now.

Still I think he’ll go well inside the top 20 possibly inside lottery level. Clippers with two picks in his range if they want a big could well snap him up.

Bamba actually has the lowest % of his shots assisted of all the top bigs in this class, which is interesting to note, because his offensive "rawness" is nitpicked the most of all the top bigs — when he had far fewer shots spoonfed to him on a fairly sparse UT roster (than Ayton, Bagley, JJJ and even Williams too).

Even then, he still had very respectable percentages, and his stroke is natural and improving — which means he will be a strong FT shooter (I see him in the high-70s) and a capable shooter out to 3. Williams is a non-shooter who regressed to sub-50% from the line, and shows very little to suggest that he’ll ever be able to knock down open Js. Add in the size difference to the skill discrepency (Williams being 6’9" to 6’10" with a reported 7’4" wingspan, and Bamba being 7’0" with a record-breaking 7’10" wingspan) and that increases the gap right there.

Lastly, Bamba is an elite rim-protector (not to be confused with shot-blocker), as he did a fantastic job of staying out of foul-trouble for a guy his age/size. He stays vertical, and can contest shots later than other bigs because of his ridiculous reach. Williams is more of a weak-side shot-blocker than a true rim-protector at this stage. 

This isn’t to minimize Williams as a prospect — I think he could be a great modern rim-runner and shot-blocker, especially on a team with a strong PG. I just think Bamba is on a different level as a prospect.