The Derrick Williams experiment begins for the Miami Heat
By Simon Smith
Derrick Williams may finally get the opportunity he’s been looking for with the Miami Heat.
Ever since entering the league as the second overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft, Derrick Williams has been searching for a place to call home. He is, of course, hoping his search will end following his recent signing with the Miami Heat.
Minnesota
Williams’ previous stops in the league have not been proven to be fruitful. However, not all the blame can lay at his feet. He commenced his career with the Minnesota Timberwolves where, as the No. 2 pick, he was expected to join recent draftees Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio in leading the Timberwolves.
Even at the time the pick was announced, many experts were querying why then-president of basketball operations David Kahn would select a player who clearly seemed to have overlapping skills with their incumbent star forward Love.
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Although Williams is extremely athletic and a high energy player, he is not a pure 3-man, and it seemed baffling to use a high pick in such a manner.
(This of course doesn’t quite top Kahn’s previous effort of selecting point guards with back-to-back picks in the 2009 draft, and yet somehow overlooking Stephen Curry).
That is a very brief overlook at what he inherited when selected by Minnesota. He did, however, manage to average 12 points, 5.5 rebounds and 24.6 minutes per game in his second season with the team, not coincidentally whilst Love managed to play just 18 games that same season due to injury.
Sacramento
His next stop was the Sacramento Kings, to whom he was traded after just 11 games into the 2013-14 season. This was seen as a fresh start for a former lottery pick clearly craving opportunity and playing time.
However, just two weeks after his arrival, the Kings acquired high scoring forward Rudy Gay via trade. Having started his initial seven games with the Kings, Williams would start just six for the remainder of the season following Gay’s arrival.
The 2014-15 season was essentially a carbon copy of the previous one, and Williams had spent his first four seasons with two of the most incompetent franchises in the league.
New York
So he signed with the New York Knicks last season. Although he showed glimpses of his potential, by season’s end he had started just nine games for the Knicks, averaging 9.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. It’s almost certain that when signing with New York, Williams didn’t anticipate the impact and production that rookie Kristaps Porzingis would have, which likely limited his playing time.
To top it off, the Knicks switched coaches mid-season, where second-year coach Derek Fisher made way for Kurt Rambis. Coincidentally, Rambis was fired by the Timberwolves as their head coach just prior to the arrival of Williams in 2011.
As a result, this topped off five seasons of Williams experiencing some of the most inept front office expertise and coaching in the league.
Miami
Season six brings Williams to Miami, having utilized the opt-out option of his Knicks contract. The Heat are in a bit of standstill as to what they are going to do moving forward. Chris Bosh’s uncertainty over both the past two seasons, and moving forward due to recurring blood clots, makes it hard for the Heat to ascertain their exact roster and rotation heading into the 2016/17 season.
Williams will no doubt see this as a tremendous opportunity to finally establish himself as a legitimate and reliable NBA player. And when you add in the departures of veteran forwards Luol Deng and Joe Johnson, both of whom played significant minutes in the playoffs, Williams should see playing time at both the 3 and 4 spots throughout the season.
Although critics can point to his lack of production and seemingly inconsistent play not matching his lofty expectations coming out college, the Heat clearly see the signing of Williams as a low-risk, high-reward signing at a one-year, $5 million deal.
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Williams wouldn’t have been selected No. 2 overall, ahead of the likes of Kawhi Leonard, Klay Thompson, Kemba Walker and Tobias Harris if he didn’t possess undeniable talent. And unlike his previous stops, the Heat will be banking on their excellent culture, and incredible stability as a franchise, as a means of bringing out the best of Derrick Williams in Miami.