Grant Williams
School: Tennessee
Position: PF
Age: 20
Height: 6-foot-7
Weight: 240
Wingspan: 6-foot-11
Draft Range: 18 to 38
Why: High character, high basketball IQ (arguably the highest in the draft), unselfish player. Especially smart on the offensive end; makes the right passes, sees openings before they develop and takes care of the ball. Shooting improved over his three years at Tennessee (shot 32.6% on threes and 81.9% at the line as a junior). Has advanced post-up repertoire; spin move is especially lethal and knows how to get to the line. Is comfortable running the offense out of the post. Rugged defender with strong fundamentals. Isn't shy about defending out on the perimeter.
Why Not: Tiny for a bigman who has no shot at sliding over to small forward. Doesn't have an overly impressive wingspan to make up for his shortcomings. Not an athlete -- not fast, can't jump, not quick, can be slow to react at times. Top-heavy body, sub par athleticism and lack of length makes it questionable whether he could be a post threat in the NBA. Slow release on three-point shot ... and he has to hit threes to have an NBA career. Struggles to rebound at times against taller compe ion.
Spurs Fit: Not a huge amount of upside left to develop so he could be thrown into the fire for backup power forward minutes as a rookie to see how much his intelligence can camouflage his shortcomings.
Spurs Comparison - Ceiling: Boris Diaw without the sneaky athleticism
Spurs Comparison - Floor: Anthony Tolliver but smaller and stubbier
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Well , you had me going until the Why Nots, then lost me. And then you kinda got me back with the Comparison Ceiling being Bobo. And then I remembered Bobo was completely unathletic, especially later in his career but would still stick the knife in and twist it.
Of everyone you have covered he might be worth a late 1st (thanks Toronto) or for sure a second if he makes it that far. If he could only develop a three point shot...
Several mock drafts have had the spurs taking him at 29
Yeah, kinda confused about his appeal. A 6'7 PF with a shaky jumper and unathletic isn't particularity appealing. Not interested.
Really hoping Spurs take Isiah Roby. A taller, longer, 3/4 player who can shoot it decently and is a good athlete.
Torn between Paul Milsap and Cornbread Maxwell.
Grant is the Derrick White of this draft. His instincts and skills will give him a great future. After watching all his tape, he is far from a Boris Diaw type power forward. He can and will be a small forward in this league in the mold of a Paul Pierce / Kawhi hybrid. His post up skills are elite and would probably be the DeMar DeRozan replacement of the future. He is a big game player who turns it up when theres pressure. His athleticism is underrated and he is really strong, wont get bullied by star small forwards. Expect big time blocks and shots just like Derrick this year.
Boris Diaw without the ATHLETICISM?Sounds worse than Kyle Anderson
How could there be no upside left for a player who has improved year to year. Is age the reason for a weird statement? Because people still believe Derrick can improve and he's freaking 25. What a strange take.
The secret to Diaw was he was quietly really athletic (until about '14, that is). When he needed to, he could casually get up to about the top of the square and he was quick enough to keep the majority of guards in front of him. Late stage Horry was similar.Boris Diaw without the ATHLETICISM?
Didn't say no upside. Williams has limited upside due to not being too athletic. Non-athletes have to rely on skill and smarts ... and, to his credit, he's close to maxing those categories out. His remaining upside is due to the hope that he can turn into a knockdown three-point shooter and improve peripheral talents such as ball-handling.
White is a damn good athlete who doesn't have that much high level basketball under his belt.
No one looked at Derrick White before or at the time he was drafted and thought "White is a damn good athlete". No one. Check the 2017 draft thread.
Did I post in that thread?
I mean, it's pretty obvious just looking at White's combine results that he was a damn good athlete.
IMO, if your vertical is 99th percentile among NBA athletes historically and your sprint time is 97th percentile among NBA athlete historically, you classify as a damn good athlete, IMO.Colorado Guard Derrick White posted the second best three-quarter sprint time at 3.08 (97th percentile historically) and tied for the third best standing vertical leap at 35.5 (99th percentile historically).
http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/...k-White-95407/
At 29 yes please!!!
Not in love with him. I don't see him as the type of forward the team needs. If he can shoot, he has a chance to get minutes, but I just don't see the defensive ceiling. Maybe on the bench, his skills would work. If he's BPA so be it. I just hope he's not that at 19.
Just the mention ofhas me watching this guy for now.
This dude is a 3 year graduate. His mom is a NASA engineer. This guy will fit in here nicely to absorb knowledge a la Manu.
Meh I still go with what i said that not many people thought White was a damn good athlete. Sure, probably not seeing those numbers. But I regress, lets wait until the combine results for players...
Every draft there are players that obviously know how to play but don’t have the athleticism and tools, just like this dude Williams here. Then there are guys who have the tools but not the skills like Nassir Little or Sekou. Teams usually go for the latter especially early in the draft.
However, every once in a while there’s a dude who, for whatever reason, is viewed as unathletic but has untapped or hidden potential there while knowing how to play - this is White. I also remember him being described as old and unathletic with limited potential. From what we know and can see as fans we have no reason to doubt these conclusions but thankfully the Spurs have more information and knowledge, so I’d be excited if they get a guy like that as they usually have development plans for these players and are good at it.
Like I said, lets wait until we see Grant's combine results. I think his numbers will surprise people. But then again, if it does, then hes gone by the 15th. I really dont believe for a minute he is as unathletic as people view him here as. Far from it. His speed and strength may turn out to be better than Little or Sekou.
White was a great athlete in comp to last years draft and was fairly tall for a PG with a good wing span, I could see more of a case for him as an good NBA player but with Grant it's harder to see.
Williams is a 6'7 PF, with meh athleticism and no 3pt shot. He seems to take a lot of mid range jumpers, some of them in the turn around variety. Hard to see him being able to get that shot off against bigger and longer defenders.
At least with someone like Anderson, he had the potential of being a 3/4 due to his massive arm span and his knack for forcing turnovers and blocking shots. In addition to being a good rebounder and an above average play maker at 6'9.
Derrick had an average wingspan. It was only 6'7". Tony Parker had 7'1"
Carl Landry type. I would pass. Much rather Okeke in this range.
An average wing span would be around 6'3 for White, considering he is 6'3 1/2 without shoes on. A 6'7 arm span is above average, it's not LaMarcus' in terms of length but it is good for a player who is a 1.
Assuming you meant 6'1 for Parker which is average considering his height.
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