#random player

[gwenevieves-travels]

A cool player who looked a bit like Eagle Flies :]

[kassandra-thedemon]

Random Player as Maritza: Hey bro what do you want to eat?

Spirit Theodore: The souls of the innocent.

Me as scout: A bagel.

Spirit Theodore: NOOO!!!

Me as scout: Two bagels.

[n3cr0n0m1c4rn1v4l]

[gwenevieves-travels]

[gwenevieves-travels]

[sppph-hail-sithis]

Magic

[sppph-hail-sithis]

I tried to get a good screenshot of this player and his rainbow emote so I was stalking him then he turned around through petals at me and then air-kissed before going back to his rainbow thing.

[montas-inferno]

Random NBA player of the day - Derrick Williams

Using voodoo, blood magic and unicorn tears, a random NBA player from the halls of history is chosen to have a random profile written about them. These can be either factual or just my thoughts on the player. But mostly just bullpoop.

Career stats (so far):

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/willide02.html

On paper, Derrick Williams has everything you look for in a great player. 6 feet 8, 240 pounds. Very athletic and strong. Can dribble some and shoot some. Fast enough to guard wings and strong enough to guard power forwards. All of this was in full display at Arizona where he absolutely dominated during his sophomore year. While Kyrie Irving was the consensus first overall pick in 2011, there was also no question that Williams would go next. Still, to call him anything other than a massive bust is an massive understatement.

He was picked by Minnesota second overall in 2011. This Minnesota team had a franchise player named Kevin Love that played the same position as Williams. While many believed that Williams would flourish as a 3 also, this was not the case. His rookie year was a disappointment, has he struggled to contribute to a horrible Minnesota team run then by the human basketball cancer named David Kahn. Still, Williams made the All-Rookie Second team, which was odd since he did not put up significant numbers. Williams was still 21, so there was hope for improvement. In his second season, Kevin Love struggled with injuries, which allowed for Williams got get his first chance as a starter and a key player.

While his numbers improved, efficiency was still crap and he was a liability defensively. At this point people were already putting Williams in the “Michael Beasley” category of players: flashes something every now and then but cannot score efficiently and cannot contribute anywhere else. Williams was a tweener in the worst way possible. Minnesota gave up on him in 2013, sending him to another dumpster fire in the Sacramento Kings. He played roughly two seasons there, putting up average numbers and losing a million games.

***

The best season for Derrick Williams came in 2015-16 with the New York Knicks, where he had signed the previous summer. Now clearly a role player, Williams provided great energy and hustle, while also finding some success on offense as a cutter. He still could not hit the side of a barn from three, but this was a positive season for him. He parlayed this success into signing with the Heat in the summer of 2016, where he again sucked. He was traded midseason to the Cavs, where he went to the 2017 Finals. Overall he did not contribute much though. This past year, Williams was unable to secure a roster spot in the NBA for the first time in his career and went to China, where he put up great numbers, though this can be said for every American player who goes there. Lakers did sign him for a 10-day contract in March, but he did not do much and was not awarded another contract. He is currently without a club.

Williams was drafted to a horrible situation in Minnesota. He was forced to play out of position, which might have lead to him wanting to be a 3, while he clearly had a skillset of a 4. Still, for whatever reason, Williams simply was not able to adjust his game to the NBA. Sometimes, people can have all the tools for success, but it just does not work. Williams is only 26, though, and with his draft position I imagine he will get looks from teams that need end-of-bench depth. Then again, his last change might have already gone.

Side notes:

While it is easy in hindsight to kill this pick, Williams was considered to be the second best prospect that year by pretty much everyone. Likewise, every GM would have taken Greg Oden in 2007 over Durant. Easy to laugh when you know the answer beforehand.

Nickname is apparently “D-Will”, though that obviously belongs to Deron Williams.

Participated once in a Dunk Contest. Him being Derrick Williams, he sucked.

Had a shoe deal with Under Armour. I bet they regret that one.