Minnesota Sports Forum

He is the player I am most excited to see returning this year. He has been a point of contention for most wolves fans. My take has been that he has been on an upward trajectory (albeit a slow one) since he has come into the league. I think everyone agreed that he made some progress last year in his shot selection and effort. By the look of it, the only way he is going to get any playing time this year (barring injuries) is to force his way into the lineup. I think he can and will be a solid part of our rotation and am even more excited to see him playing with Love in certain lineup combinations. I am still firmly planted on the Williams bandwagon and loved a few things I saw from him last year, most notably I saw him guarding Kobe (and other athletic players) effectively one on one, I saw him playing within the system by the end of the year, and occasionally he would finish a wild drive to the hoop.

I'm with you Doper. Does he have the stones to take a starting wing position away from Bud or Brewer? Or will he continue to be a 3/4 hybrid off the bench? I really think his continued improvement could make a difference between a 45 win team and a 55 win team.

Its all in his head. Does he have the drive/desire to do whats necessary to force Adelman's hand, or does he do just enough to get a few minutes again?

I hate to say it, but considering the moves we made this offseason our contender status pretty much hinges on D Will becoming a solid 3 on both ends of the court. Bud and Brewer are both backups. We would be a contender if D Will can play the 3 on both sides of the ball because then we would have a solid starting 5 and one of the better 6-10's in the league if not the best.

I agree with khans. Our hope of being a legit contender hinges on the performance of Williams. If he can breakout and live up to the standard of a number 2 pick whether playing 3or 4, then we can hope of contending.

Love, rubio and pek will make us a playoff team and the depth of the team can push us into a deep run at the playoffs. But to take that next step, Dw is the key.

Best case, he proves to be a starting caliber 3 who can play at a peak danny granger level. That would be huge for us.

Even if he proves to be a tweener or a 4, as long as he is effective and starting caliber material, he can have good trade value and paired with a player on the team could net us that missing piece to push us to the next level. Whatever the case, DW needs to have a big year.

I agree with Kahns and World. Williams is a big key to the season for the Wolves. I'm not on the Williams bandwagon with Doper, but I have no doubt Williams has a lot of talent and the potential to be a very good NBA player. I also agree he showed some really positive signs late last season.

SP -- I think you nailed it. The talent is there. Whether Williams plays up to his considerable potential will ultimately turn on what's going on between his ears.

Yep, my feelings about Williams are in line with the last couple posts. There is no disputing that the talent is there, but his intangibles prevent me from getting too excited about him. I know it's unfair of me to think this way because he's still only 22, but my best guess right now is that his inconsistency will prevent him from ever reaching his potential. When I think about the main pieces in the 2013-14 Wolves, my mind doesn't wander to Derrick very often. I hope that he proves me wrong.

But I guess that is what is so intriguing about this club. The players I am counting on (Love, Rubio, Pek and Martin) along with role players like Brewer, Barea, Budinger and Cunningham are good enough to carry us to the playoffs. Absent the freakish injuries this team has suffered the past two years, I look at this group as the "knowns". But it's the "unknowns" that are going to determine whether this squad can contend or not. Right now I am pessimistic about one or two players in the Williams, Shved, Muhammad, Dieng group stepping up enough to turn us into contenders. But the exciting thing is that we have guys with the potential to really step up. If Williams played like he did in the NCAA's, if Shved showed the combination of flash and consistency that he regularly shows in international play, if Muhammad realized the promise he showed as the #1 prep player, if Deing became a game changing defensive presence.....If, if , if, if. And that I think is the premise of doper's post...that a greatly improved Williams could mean a lot to this team. I say that if two of my "ifs" come to fruition, the wolves become a contender...but I still see that as a long shot.

LST, I`m with you. Williams is going to be a wild cad next year.

I think that Corey Brewer should be on our starting lineup and Bud as the first substitute.

Williams doesn`t fit to Adelman`s system and he is in-consisted, therefore I can`t see Williams earning a lot of playing time next year, so I can`t see any improvement in his game next year.

I`ll be more than happy if Adelman and Williams will prove me wrong. But in the same time, I hope that Williams will play enough not to loose his trade value.

Eitan wrote:LST, I`m with you. Williams is going to be a wild cad next year.

I think that Corey Brewer should be on our starting lineup and Bud as the first substitute.

Williams doesn`t fit to Adelman`s system and he is in-consisted, therefore I can`t see Williams earning a lot of playing time next year, so I can`t see any improvement in his game next year.

I`ll be more than happy if Adelman and Williams will prove me wrong. But in the same time, I hope that Williams will play enough not to loose his trade value.

Perfectly said. *Thumbs up*

Since Derrick Williams scored 26 points in 28 minutes at Minnesota, he's scored 24 in 123 minutes. This sums of the confusion that is D-Will.