Who Would You Trade For Carmelo Anthony (Part III: Terrence Williams)
Sep 2, 2010 Anthony Morrow, Carmelo Anthony, Terrence Williams, Trade Ideas, Travis Outlaw
With the Nets constantly being mentioned by the mainstream sports media as a potential landing spot for Carmelo Anthony, the NAS squad is going to take a look over at some of the players who would likely be included in a deal for the All-Star SF.
Would you Trade Terrence Williams?
The Case For Trading Terrence Williams:
The man is all potential at this point. Williams is a favorite of a lot of Nets fans and surely many will cry foul should T-Will be traded. Afterall, some may have spent $40+ dollars on a Williams jersey and it only appreciated one year’s worth of value? In any case, Williams is loaded with talent and athleticism and brings a certain amount of excitement every time his kicks touch the hardwood. However, he can’t shoot for excrement! Granted it was his rookie season, but shooting 40.1% for the season is as bad as answering your girlfriend when she asks you if she looks good in a certain outfit (BTW, the answer is always to ask a question back such as, “Do you think you look good in it?”).
Taking a closer look at it, Williams shot 55.4% at the rim and 50.0% from less than 10 feet, which is decent, but 31.6% from 10-15 feet, 22.0% from 16-23 feet, and 31.0% from three-point range. In a word, yuck. Obviously as a wing player, one must, you know, be able to hit shots from the wing and Williams clearly cannot do that yet. Unfortunately for T-Will, there are other players now on the team that can. Anthony Morrow is a career 48.1% shooter from 10-15, 44.1% from 16-23, and 46.0% from the land of treys. Travis Outlaw, in the past four seasons, has hit 39.8% of his shots from 10-15, 41.8% from 16-23, and 36.4% from behind the three-point line.
Granted getting to the rim is part of being a wing player, but both Morrow and Outlaw are pretty good finishers at the rim themselves, so Williams doesn’t stand out in that respect. So, unless T-Will can get a jumper of some kind with the quickfast, he has to be considered expendable, particularly for a player of Carmelo Anthony’s caliber.
The Case Against Trading Terrence Williams:
The man is all potential at this point. However, the last two months of the 2009-10 season, in particular, showed how great Williams could be. In 15 March games, T-Will averaged 14.1 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 4.9 APG. In 7 April games, he slightly upped the production by averaging 14.3 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 6.3 APG, a month that includes getting his first career triple-double (27, 13, 10) versus the Chicago Bulls on April 9th. And to get back to his shooting, in March, Williams shot 42.9% from the field and did a lot better in April, hitting 45.5% of his shots. So, there is hope yet!
Given the burn on the court, T-Will is basically a triple-double waiting to happen. His Per 40 stats break down to 14.9 PPG, 7.9 RPG, and 5.1 APG. Williams is a freak athlete with outstanding court vision and passing ability for a wing. In fact, there always seems to be talk about T-Will playing the lead guard position as a back-up to Devin Harris. Williams has the tools to become an outstanding defender at the NBA level as he was during his college days at Louisville, able to defend multiple positions. Again, there is a lot of potential here with Williams.
The Final Verdict:
Potential is a nice thing, however, it can only get you so far, especially if you’re the Nets trying to make the playoffs and change the culture surrounding the team. So, the question is, will Carmelo Anthony help the Nets into the playoffs? No question. Will T-Will? Quite possibly, but there is a better chance with Melo around in a Nets uni. So, Terrence Williams, we hardly knew ye. Enjoy Denver.
The Nets Will Make the Playoffs if (Part II)
Aug 19, 2010 2011 Playoffs, Terrence Williams
After struggling with a 12 win season last year, Nets fans are feeling good about their current situation. A much improved roster, a successful coach, and an owner willing to spend has fans thinking about the playoffs. We here think that the playoffs are a possibility but not a guarantee. Over the next two weeks, we are going to look at four things that need to happen for the Nets to make the playoffs. This is part II.
The Nets Will Make The Playoffs If…TWill Develops Into the Player We Saw at the End of Last Season
Why Is It Important?
After a complete roster makeover this summer, Terrence Williams is one of four remaining Nets from last year’s roster. While some believe the trade of Courtney Lee opens the starting SG spot for sharpshooter Anthony Morrow, I personally believe with TWill’s diverse skillset, a permanent spot in the starting lineup is his for the taking. No player on the roster may be more linked to the Nets respectable finish to last season than Williams. After floundering for most of the season on the bench, even receiving a threat from the front office that he would be demoted to the D-League if he didn’t get his act together, TWill became a fixture in the Nets rotation for the season’s final six weeks. And TWill rewarded the team for its faith, averaging 14.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.9 assists in March and 14.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 6.3 assists in April. Without this boost in production from TWill, the Nets possibly end up with the worst record in NBA history. Instead, they won 4 of their last 11 games.
TWill’s playmaking ability and tenacious rebounding compliment the Nets starting five. While he’s not an effective scorer from the perimeter, he has an explosive first step and is a strong finisher at the basket. With Brook Lopez working the post, Travis Outlaw and Troy Murphy working the perimeter and Devin Harris being another threat to slash and score, TWill will likely be matched with defenders who will not be able to handle his combination of speed and strength.
Can It Happen?
Yes. TWill’s Summer League performance seems to be a mixed bag as some criticized him for not getting the ball to rookie Derrick Favors enough (Favors’ one good game came without TWill who was sitting with an injury). But Williams was also clearly the star of the Orlando Summer League, averaging 18.8 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds. Yes, it’s only Summer League, against other first and second year players, but TWill looked poised and confident, and most importantly demonstrated that his ability to fill a stat sheet last March and April were no fluke. His game still has significant flaws: his outside shooting beyond the corner three is putrid and his turns the ball over too much for a playmaker – often trying to make the spectacular play instead of the smart one. But TWill potentially brings so much to the Nets when he’s focused and playing smart, that his evolution is essential to the Nets Playoff chances.
Not to get too far ahead of ourselves with comparisons, but just for fun, in Scottie Pippen’s sophomore season (age 23, like Williams) he put up 14.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists. We all know how his career worked out.
Trading For A Power Forward
Jul 19, 2010 2010 Offseason, Courtney Lee, Rumors, Terrence Williams
With all of the starting caliber power forwards free agents pretty much locked up, the only way the Nets can get a guy to play in front of Derrick Favors for a few years so he can develop is through a trade. As Mark told us over the weekend, Terrence Williams might be the guy who gets sacrificed to make this happen.
People who read this site on a daily basis know how much I like Terrence Williams, but I do think if a deal gets made he is the one most likely to be dealt. In my opinion, Terrence Williams is valued higher by other teams than by the Nets. This is because Avery Johnson loves guys who can play both ends of the court, and right now Terrence Williams is weak on the defensive end. So who can the Nets bring in by dealing Terrence Williams? Well, I decided to use Trade Machine to take a look:
Terrence Williams for Carl Landry
Carl Landry is the exact type of Power Forward the Nets are looking for. He is only under contract for another two years, and he is a guy who wants to bang on the inside…the Nets need that. As for the Kings, they don’t have a standout Shooting Guard on their roster, and T-Will can be that.
Daily Link: TWill a Negative on Favors?
Jul 19, 2010 Daily Link, Derrick Favors, Summer League 2010, Terrence Williams
Nets fans and observers who think Terrence Williams may be best suited as trade bait for a starting quality power forward got some more fuel for their fire in a Marc Spears column over at Yahoo! Spears suggests that #3 Draft Pick Derrick Favors was one of the “losers” of the Summer League, but it really wasn’t his fault:
The third pick in the draft averaged just seven shots in the New Jersey Nets’ first four summer league games in Orlando because teammate Terrence Williams(notes) was busy hoisting away. Williams, the Nets’ second-year guard, averaged 19 shots a game.
When the Nets limited Williams to just four minutes in their finale, Favors went for 23 points and 11 rebounds while making 10 of his 17 shots. If the Nets could do it over, they might want to feature Favors a little more prominently.
I didn’t get to watch too much of the summer league this year because I’m not a league pass guy, so maybe Sebastian and Devin can chime in over here, but it seems a little premature to say that it was solely TWill who affected Favors’ performance. I just have to wonder if some of these writers are being set up by Nets brass to go negative on TWill to make a trade of his a bit more acceptable as it seems inevitable.
Daily Link: TWill Trade Bait?
Jul 17, 2010 Daily Link, Terrence Williams
A few of us have speculated as much around here, but Dave D’Alessandro really pokes the hornets nest and suggests that Terrence Williams greatest role with the Nets going forward may be as trade bait for an established power forward.
Admit that right now, this kid is a spare part – and an extremely valuable one.
And really, can you disagree with Dave D.? The Nets are overloaded at the wing position, and unless Courtney Lee has completely fallen out of favor with the new regime, I can’t see TWill taking PT away from some of the new guys on this team like Anthony Morrow, Damion James and Travis Outlaw. You could maybe solve this problem and move Outlaw to PF temporarily to open up a spot in the starting five for Williams, but I haven’t read a single team-connected report that mentions that as a possibility.
I’ll be on the record and say I think trading Williams for a stopgap PF will be a mistake, but I agree with Dave D. that there’s a certain inevitability to it.
Summer League: Statistical Recap
Jul 13, 2010 2010 Summer League, Damion James, Derrick Favors, Devin Kharpertian, Terrence Williams
The Summer League stats for the Nets are now up on our Statistics page, and over the five games a some interesting indicators came up in the numbers. Because of that, I’m going to do a quick statistical breakdown of the Nets players and how they fared last week.
First, the Big 3:
Terrence Williams (18.8 PPG, 3 RPG, 5 APG, 4.2 TPG, 44.3% FG%) was the star of Summer League. While he was off at times – in game 3 he struggled from the floor, shooting 8-26 – he was the most consistent producer for the Nets throughout. Attacking the rim regularly, T-Will took almost 16 attempts from the floor per game and a little over 6 attempts from the free throw line.
One important note is that in the 5th game, he only played for the first five minutes, so only looking at his stats from the first four games produces a line of 23-6.3-3.8-5.3-44.7%, which other than the huge turnover number is very impressive. As I mentioned in the game 3 recap, it did seem that T-Will was experimenting a lot with his game, so the turnover number doesn’t bother me too much. If he tightens his play up for the regular season, he will have a very good year.
Damion James (18.8 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1 APG, 46.4 FG%) showed a lot of signs that he’s going to be an impact player at the next level. Although he was forced to sit out the final game due to injury, James was aggressive at all times on both sides of the floor and really showed off his impressive stroke. He hit many mid-range jumpers and shot 4-10 from the field over the five-day period, two of those in his 30-point breakout on Wednesday. His only serious issue is free-throw shooting – he shot 19-34 (a paltry 56%) from the charity stripe, which is worse than his college average this past season (67.4%) but not by much. His weaknesses pale in comparison to everything he brought to the team last week, and he’ll have a definite impact on the Nets next year.
Derrick Favors (10.6 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 1.2 APG, 4.8 FPG, 46.7 FG%) Had an up-and-down Summer League performance, but really started to put it together by the end of the week. While struggling with foul trouble, turnover issues, and an occasional lack of aggressiveness early in the week, Favors dominated in the final game of Summer League, breaking out for 23 points, 11 rebounds, and a variety of post moves and high-flying jams. After watching in-depth for a week, the talent is clearly there – he just needs to work on his aggressiveness in the lane and work on the flaws in his mid-range jumpshot. He’s got all the unteachables – an NBA body, ridiculously smooth athletic ability, and a knack for finishing around the rim – all he needs now is a coach who will get in his head that he actually can score on anyone. Luckily, the Nets have the perfect man for the job in Avery Johnson.
The rest:
Summer League Game 3 Recap
Jul 8, 2010 2010 Summer League, Damion James, Derrick Favors, Devin Kharpertian, Terrence Williams
In the third game of summer league, Nets fans were treated to one of the more exciting and well-played Summer League games so far, and it ended well in a 94-91 Nets victory. It came down to the wire – Terrence Williams split a few free throw chances to give the Magic an opportunity, but Patrick Ewing Jr. inexplicably tried to spot up from 40 feet away at the buzzer instead of passing it to a closer man and the Nets came away with the victory. Let’s break it down.
Summer League Starts Today For The Nets
Jul 5, 2010 Damion James, Derrick Favors, Summer League 2010, Terrence Williams
Lost in all of the free agency craziness is the fact that the Orlando Summer League starts today, and the Nets are one of the eight teams participating. The Nets are ready, as they made final cuts yesterday to get the roster down to 11 players. The Nets have three guys who are guaranteed to be on their opening day roster (barring any trades). Derrick Favors, Damion James, and Terrence Williams all will be starting, with Williams playing shooting guard (my guess is that the Nets want to start him at SG, while bringing Courtney Lee off the bench). Rounding out the starting lineup are the two players with make-good contracts (guaranteeing that they will be in camp, with a chance to make the final roster), Ben Uzoh and Brian Zoubek. Ben Couch has the rest of the roster on the Nets summer league homepage.
I am really exciting about watching summer league, especially after last year’s fiasco. Unfortunately, they won’t be streaming the games free this year, but you can watch them online (if you don’t have NBATV) by ordering the Summer League Broadband package from NBA.com.
The Nets game vs. Evan Turner and the Sixers starts today at 7, and their schedule the rest of the way looks like this:
- 7/6 – 7:00 vs. Indiana
- 7/7 – 5:00 vs. Orlando
- 7/8 – 5:00 vs. Utah
- 7/9 – 12:00 vs. Boston
Why Evan Turner Is The Number One Pick For The Nets
May 13, 2010 2010 Draft, 2010 Free Agents, 2010 Offseason, Brook Lopez, Carlos Boozer, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Courtney Lee, Devin Harris, Draft, Draft Lottery, Evan Turner, Free Agents, HOPE!, John Wall, Mikhail Prokhorov, Opinion, Rod Thorn, Terrence Williams
There is no questioning that John Wall is an excellent talent and NBA prospect. Ask anyone that watches basketball and they will tell you in no uncertain terms that he’s phenomenal, an athletic freak, and quite the dancer. My NAS colleague, Devin, praises Wall and makes excellent points about Wall’s game. However, if I were the New Jersey Nets, I’d select Evan Turner if the Nets’ luck is as good as a picture of a bikini-clad Jessica Alba and the team wins next week’s NBA Draft Lottery. Turner is as versatile as they come and many consider Wall and Turner, Pick 1A and 1B, but we’ll get down to Turner and his skill set a bit later. First, let’s peep the point guard that most people think is no longer in the Nets’ plans and seemingly expendable.
Oh, and for the record, the Nets have a 25% chance of winning the NBA Draft Lottery and receiving the first overall pick of the 2010 NBA Draft and I have a -25% chance of gaining any attention from the aforementioned Alba. Snowball meet hell.
Terrence Williams’ New Nickname?
Apr 28, 2010 Reader E-mail, Terrence Williams
So, I got an e-mail yesterday that got me thinking about this topic:
Dear Mr. Pruiti,
The other day I was having a discussion with my friends about the coolest nicknames in sports. After a while, we came to the conclusion that ‘Jedi’ would be by far the coolest; but we could not think of anyone who had it. I would like to give it to Terrence Williams, with your help to spread the word. Lets face it, t-will is very unoriginal. A-rod t-mac d-will k-rod, the list goes on and on for that style nickname. Plus, although this is a corny reason, he is one of the best jumpers in the league, making him a ’skywalker.’ Of course, I am open to other suggestions from fellow Net fans, but t-will has to go. If you like ‘Jedi’ Williams, help me spread it.
Thank you in advance,
Vincent
First off, I like any e-mail that starts off with “Mr. Pruiti” it makes me feel much more important than I really am. Second, I really really really like this nickname. What do you guys think? Leave your opinions in the comments, and meanwhile, I will try and get this nickname to stick.