HOOPSWORLD | Basketball News & NBA Rumors

Alex’s Weekly Update: Steve Kyler isn’t the only one with doubts about Derrick Williams. The Arizona product is generously listed at 6-9, and may not have the size to defend power forwards or the speed to keep up with small forwards in the NBA. His closest comparable seems to be Timberwolves forward Michael Beasley, who, like Williams has struggled to define himself at one position.

Perhaps the best fit for Williams is as a “stretch four” on a running team. The Timberwolves—owners of the second overall pick—were the fastest team in the NBA during the regular season (they averaged 99.2 possessions per game), but unless they plan on moving Kevin Love to center, Williams wouldn’t get much of a chance to play power forward. Given the fact that Minnesota is still sifting through forwards Anthony Randolph, Wesley Johnson and Beasley at forward as it is, it seems likely the Timberwolves would go in another direction.

Williams’ ultimate success as an NBA player my rest on his ability to stretch the floor. Like Beasley, Williams averaged 1.1 converted 3-point attempts per game in his final collegiate season. However, Williams shot them at a remarkable 56.8% clip. The question is, can Williams shoot more than two 3-pointers per game and still expect to hit a decent percentage in the NBA? Everyone likes Williams’ intangibles, but it’s his shooting—or rather, the perception of his shooting—that will ultimately determine how high he goes.

Joel’s Weekly Update: I heard an interesting suggestion in one of my chats that I thought was worth mentioning (but immediately debunking)—Cleveland is set on taking Kyrie Irving with the top overall pick, but the availability of another star at #4 probably isn’t very likely. So why not take Derrick Williams #1 and then roll with either Brandon Knight or Kemba Walker at #4? That was Cleveland gets Williams, who they obviously want, as well as a point guard with which to reboot their franchise. In short, is Irving so much better than Knight or Walker that it’s worth missing out on Williams?

It really is a solid idea, and one I’m sure somebody in Cleveland has suggested at some point over the course of the last few weeks. That said, it’s got about a 0% chance of actually going down like that. Irving is the best player in the draft and the most likely guy to eventually find his way to an All-Star game. As the team with the top overall pick, that’s the guy they absolutely have to take. They’ll get a talented guy at #4 or may even find a way to move up, but it’s got to be Kyrie to start. Williams would be a great second fiddle there, but he’s not the top pick here. It’s got to be Kyrie.

Yannis’ Weekly Update: Throughout the last six weeks Texas’ Jordan Hamilton has been a mainstay in the middle portion of the first round in my mock draft. I haven’t figured out a way to move him into the top 10, but I’ve got as much faith in his potential as I do any other prospect’s in this year’s class.

Hamilton simply possesses the “it” factor. At 6’7 he’s a handful to defend with a very underrated all-around skill set. Although still quite young with a lot of upside, he’s definitely NBA ready. He’s going to be able to provide offensive off of the bench right away as a rookie and a few years down the line he could end up being a starter.

The rest of the NCAA and the Big 12 in particular are extremely pleased with the fact that they’ll no longer have to deal with Hamilton. He stepped up his game tremendously as a sophomore and would have been a Player of the Year candidate as a junior. Odds are that he’ll likely end up going late lottery or somewhere shortly after, but the teams who pass on him should be prepared to regret it for many years to come.

Steve’s Weekly Update: Playing games in the workout process is bad news. As the draft approaches in some 11 days more and more agents are being selective about who and where their clients work out.

Enes Kanter was asking teams to come visit him in Chicago, refusing to travel to Utah and Toronto opting to have those teams come to him. He however did accept Cleveland’s invite this week to come to Cleveland and will travel to Minnesota next week. Brandon Knight is doing something similar refusing certain teams’ workout invites and refusing to go head to head with competitive players.

Think about the message that sends to those team trying to decide who to select in a very flat talent pool.

On another note, there is a perception that Kyrie Irving has locked up the top overall pick from Cleveland. He has not.

Cavs’ sources said they will meet with Kyrie next week and expect to work him out. The Cavaliers have concerns about Irving’s foot and will do extensive research and evaluation of the foot and at any point if Irving is not cooperative, they will move to Derrick Williams. The last thing the Cavaliers want to do is draft a Greg Oden-type player, tons of ability but can not stay healthy. A point guard with a bad wheel is a problem especially at #1.

adidas EuroCamp got underway today in Treviso and Bismack Biyombo did a one on zero workout for NBA scouts and executives and apparently did not do well according to Draft Express’ Jonathan Givony. ESPN’s David Thorpe broke down Biyombo’s game film for ESPN’s Draft Blog and came away comparing him to Miami’s Joel Anthony.

Hard to imagine a team spending a top 10 draft pick on a player who’s ceiling is Joel Anthony – no offense to Joel – but in surveying the landscape Biyombo’s future upside may be enticing enough to get him drafted, but early word is he is not helping himself in the process, so he could be a player that tumbles on draft night.

Lastly think about the people selecting players at the top of this draft… David Kahn at #2… Bryan Colangelo at #5… Ernie Grunwald at #6… Geoff Petrie at #7…

Can any of them afford to fall flat on their faces in this draft? Can either afford to miss on a real talent and keep their jobs? All four are more likely to make the smart pick than the gamble pick and that’s got the European players a bit concerned.

Jonas Valanciunas is the best center prospect in this draft class, but if he does not go #4 to Cleveland he could tumble. Jan Vesley makes sense in the top ten, but there are only a few slots where gambling on the Euro player makes long term sense especially knowing he is easily two years away.

Who is making the pick this year is going to matter more than who they are picking, because for a lot of guys this is their third straight year picking in the top 10 and if they get it wrong, someone else will get the honors next year.

You can also cross Nikola Mirotic off your mock draft… Nikola signed a three year contract extension last year with Real Madrid and has a $2.5 million Euro buyout. His camp is hinting that he may withdraw from the draft before the June 13th deadline. Its believed even if drafted he wouldn’t be eligible to play in the NBA because of the buyout for at least three seasons.

There is a chance that Mirotic opts to stay in if he gets a commitment from a team, and there is a belief that teams with stable long term plans could invest and defer the draft pick, but spending a first rounder on a kid that’s three years out may be a bit of a reach.