I can't wait for the season to start; I believe we might surprise the entire league next year

Knicks1969 wrote:That dude is bound to have a solid career with the Knicks in my opinion. For the first te since he has been drafted, he is being looked as a basketball player, not one who is MAYBE a SF or a PF. He will be in a system that will keep vin on the move to truly take advantage of his athletic abilities. If this dude can show an aptitude for dribbling the ball, he might even be asked to play the Pippen/Odom role.

I can't wait for the season to start; I believe we might surprise the entire league next year

Outside of Sacto and Denver, I'm not a huge fan of taking the narrative that in order to say something positive about what the Knicks have done, what needs to happen is, in lock step, to say something negative about 27 other front offices, GMs and scouts. That's a tough narrative to sell, that Derrick William's failure to meet his draft day expectations is because 29 other teams simply are incapable of understanding what Derrick Williams can and cannot do and fail to put him into a position to succeed. I just don't buy that.

If Williams could have gotten the same money to go to a team with more opportunity to play or start or win, he'd have signed with another team.

He signed with the Knicks ( one of the worst owners in sports, pretty much a raw unit of Phil as GM and Fisher as coach, a rabid media base, high cost of living, won only 17 games last year, "franchise" player is a disgruntled chucker who might demand to be traded in months, no clear path to a starting job) because he's starting to head towards the end of his rope in terms of opportunity and goodwill associated with his former draft stock. This is like a NFL free agent signing with the Raiders towards the end of the offseason. Not really many other suitors, just want to stay in the league a little bit longer.

Same thing I say over and over - HE WAS AVAILABLE FOR A REASON

Dude's a tweener. Doesn't have an elite three point shot and doesn't have the speed to play the wing. His tradeoffs don't have equalizing positives to make his situation digestable for most winning NBA teams.

Nixluva is wrong again. It's not about reps and rhythm. Dude needs to lose like 30-40 pounds to get down to a very very very slim size to increase his speed and attempt to focus on being an elite wing defender. He has that much in him possibly, but it's a lot of sacrifice and blood to do it. Guy simply doesn't have the shooting skill ( and while you can improve that, it does take time, and it's unclear if he has that much rope left in his career) to be an asset as a modern PF for most teams. He's a tweener where it's clear he has no chance to be an effective NBA starter as a PF.

The "Triangle Offense" is not a magic elixir.

The same limitations that hurt him before will keep hurting him unless he makes drastic changes. Worry less about what was hoped for him and focus on what he can probably do in more limited situations right now.

Guy isn't here because every other team mishandled him, he's here because he's nearly out of rope. That's the price paid for a culture of losing in a team's recent history. That's any team in that situation.

TripleThreat wrote:

Knicks1969 wrote:That dude is bound to have a solid career with the Knicks in my opinion. For the first te since he has been drafted, he is being looked as a basketball player, not one who is MAYBE a SF or a PF. He will be in a system that will keep vin on the move to truly take advantage of his athletic abilities. If this dude can show an aptitude for dribbling the ball, he might even be asked to play the Pippen/Odom role.

I can't wait for the season to start; I believe we might surprise the entire league next year

Outside of Sacto and Denver, I'm not a huge fan of taking the narrative that in order to say something positive about what the Knicks have done, what needs to happen is, in lock step, to say something negative about 27 other front offices, GMs and scouts. That's a tough narrative to sell, that Derrick William's failure to meet his draft day expectations is because 29 other teams simply are incapable of understanding what Derrick Williams can and cannot do and fail to put him into a position to succeed. I just don't buy that.

If Williams could have gotten the same money to go to a team with more opportunity to play or start or win, he'd have signed with another team.

He signed with the Knicks ( one of the worst owners in sports, pretty much a raw unit of Phil as GM and Fisher as coach, a rabid media base, high cost of living, won only 17 games last year, "franchise" player is a disgruntled chucker who might demand to be traded in months, no clear path to a starting job) because he's starting to head towards the end of his rope in terms of opportunity and goodwill associated with his former draft stock. This is like a NFL free agent signing with the Raiders towards the end of the offseason. Not really many other suitors, just want to stay in the league a little bit longer.

Same thing I say over and over - HE WAS AVAILABLE FOR A REASON

Dude's a tweener. Doesn't have an elite three point shot and doesn't have the speed to play the wing. His tradeoffs don't have equalizing positives to make his situation digestable for most winning NBA teams.

Nixluva is wrong again. It's not about reps and rhythm. Dude needs to lose like 30-40 pounds to get down to a very very very slim size to increase his speed and attempt to focus on being an elite wing defender. He has that much in him possibly, but it's a lot of sacrifice and blood to do it. Guy simply doesn't have the shooting skill ( and while you can improve that, it does take time, and it's unclear if he has that much rope left in his career) to be an asset as a modern PF for most teams. He's a tweener where it's clear he has no chance to be an effective NBA starter as a PF.

The "Triangle Offense" is not a magic elixir.

The same limitations that hurt him before will keep hurting him unless he makes drastic changes. Worry less about what was hoped for him and focus on what he can probably do in more limited situations right now.

Guy isn't here because every other team mishandled him, he's here because he's nearly out of rope. That's the price paid for a culture of losing in a team's recent history. That's any team in that situation.

Any basis for this? What was his choices that you were aware of?

If Williams could have gotten the same money to go to a team with more opportunity to play or start or win, he'd have signed with another team.

I get this is your opinion and its how JR smith came to us after the Melo trade. But, Dwilliams is only 23 and the NBA has a history of dysfunctional franchises and sometimes not developing players. Im not sure He was in the proper environment conducive to growth and given he was very raw out of college its no surprise he has stagnated to some degree. Certainly he was not in demand for a host of reasons but at this moment in time we have an interesting coaching staff dedicated to development and very committed to a system of play that all players coming in are well aware of and have skills our staff deem worthy of it, and would have to make a commitment before signing.

Guy isn't here because every other team mishandled him, he's here because he's nearly out of rope. That's the price paid for a culture of losing in a team's recent history. That's any team in that situation.

Derrik reminds me a bit of Tim Thomas and perhaps with the right situation can put it all together. NBA has a ton of hits and misses and this is far from a franchise killing move if it don't.

Im excited for the season to start and see if it can come together.

mreinman wrote:

gunsnewing wrote:Been trying to figure out ways to get this guy here for 3yrs. He will shock Knick fans when he puts it all together in this system. We are have a lot of depth and high ceiling, high reward players to take on the scoring duties when we trade Melo

why???

I agree.....Since I lived in AZ, and followed UofA basketball, I was a fan of his in college. So I'm always going to hold out hope. From what I can see, he has the physical tools to be a dominant player in the NBA. But people don't understand how mentally tough you have to be at the NBA level. And for some rookies, it takes a change in scenary and a system change, to be able to change your future. I believe his back is to the wall this season, and he will carry a big chip on his shoulder. And if you've noticed, the one common theme with this years team, is that Phil built up a team full of players with chips on their shoulders (even Melo).

D.Will also has Melo (along with the other NYC vets like O'quinn) as a mentor, who plays the same position and both around the same size. D.Wills problems is all mental and maturity. Just because you get drafted into the NBA, doesn't mean your maturity level graduated. He's a college player, who would've stayed in college, if he could make NBA money in college. He wasn't ready or prepared for the NBA life, and the hard work of repetition that comes with it (constantly improving your game). When your back is to the wall, usually the best comes out. I believe D.Will will play the best basketball he's ever played over the next two years.

He's a finisher....Just tell him to run and jump. He's only 24, so he has plenty of springs in him. Him and Grant on the break will be a thing of beauty. And the pressure to perform with a knick uniform should lift his game up to new levels. The garden crowd and knick fans don't allow players to slack off without letting them have it. Big difference between Knick fans and Sac fans.

blkexec wrote:

mreinman wrote:

gunsnewing wrote:Been trying to figure out ways to get this guy here for 3yrs. He will shock Knick fans when he puts it all together in this system. We are have a lot of depth and high ceiling, high reward players to take on the scoring duties when we trade Melo

why???

I agree.....Since I lived in AZ, and followed UofA basketball, I was a fan of his in college. So I'm always going to hold out hope. From what I can see, he has the physical tools to be a dominant player in the NBA. But people don't understand how mentally tough you have to be at the NBA level. And for some rookies, it takes a change in scenary and a system change, to be able to change your future. I believe his back is to the wall this season, and he will carry a big chip on his shoulder. And if you've noticed, the one common theme with this years team, is that Phil built up a team full of players with chips on their shoulders (even Melo).

D.Will also has Melo (along with the other NYC vets like O'quinn) as a mentor, who plays the same position and both around the same size. D.Wills problems is all mental and maturity. Just because you get drafted into the NBA, doesn't mean your maturity level graduated. He's a college player, who would've stayed in college, if he could make NBA money in college. He wasn't ready or prepared for the NBA life, and the hard work of repetition that comes with it (constantly improving your game). When your back is to the wall, usually the best comes out. I believe D.Will will play the best basketball he's ever played over the next two years.

He's a finisher....Just tell him to run and jump. He's only 24, so he has plenty of springs in him. Him and Grant on the break will be a thing of beauty. And the pressure to perform with a knick uniform should lift his game up to new levels. The garden crowd and knick fans don't allow players to slack off without letting them have it. Big difference between Knick fans and Sac fans.

I think that everything you said was said about anthony randolph as well. All world talent and no brains for the game.

nixluva wrote:DWill has all the talent necessary to be successful. It's up to him to put in the work to learn and improve his skills. He'll be put in a situation to succeed in this system. The constant off ball movement falls right into his wheelhouse. He should take to it like a fish in water. He needs to put in the reps so that it's 2nd nature to him. He should be able to in time develop a rhythm to where he'll get the ball and what he can do in those spots. Also hopefully he can learn the other fine points of team basketball.

mreinman wrote:

blkexec wrote:

mreinman wrote:

gunsnewing wrote:Been trying to figure out ways to get this guy here for 3yrs. He will shock Knick fans when he puts it all together in this system. We are have a lot of depth and high ceiling, high reward players to take on the scoring duties when we trade Melo

why???

I agree.....Since I lived in AZ, and followed UofA basketball, I was a fan of his in college. So I'm always going to hold out hope. From what I can see, he has the physical tools to be a dominant player in the NBA. But people don't understand how mentally tough you have to be at the NBA level. And for some rookies, it takes a change in scenary and a system change, to be able to change your future. I believe his back is to the wall this season, and he will carry a big chip on his shoulder. And if you've noticed, the one common theme with this years team, is that Phil built up a team full of players with chips on their shoulders (even Melo).

D.Will also has Melo (along with the other NYC vets like O'quinn) as a mentor, who plays the same position and both around the same size. D.Wills problems is all mental and maturity. Just because you get drafted into the NBA, doesn't mean your maturity level graduated. He's a college player, who would've stayed in college, if he could make NBA money in college. He wasn't ready or prepared for the NBA life, and the hard work of repetition that comes with it (constantly improving your game). When your back is to the wall, usually the best comes out. I believe D.Will will play the best basketball he's ever played over the next two years.

He's a finisher....Just tell him to run and jump. He's only 24, so he has plenty of springs in him. Him and Grant on the break will be a thing of beauty. And the pressure to perform with a knick uniform should lift his game up to new levels. The garden crowd and knick fans don't allow players to slack off without letting them have it. Big difference between Knick fans and Sac fans.

I think that everything you said was said about anthony randolph as well. All world talent and no brains for the game.

Very true....thats the negative side of players that never reach their basketball IQ potential. The NBA is not for the weak minded. I think Randolph was a good player....But yes, similar to D Will......both do not have anything great that stands out. The one difference I see is D.Will is a power finisher......Randolph is a finest finisher. So I will try and us D.Wills finishing skills to our advantage. But yes, he has bust potential written all over him. Lets hope he improves and develops a skill. Blake Griffin was just a power dunker for years. Now he's almost a complete player. But Blake is mentally strong. DWill is not.