Schmeelk: Knicks Did Well With O'Quinn, But Williams Is A Bit Of A Leap Of Faith
By John Schmeelk
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The Knicks' work in free agency is all but done. They only have their room for their $2.8 million exception left, which they can use to fill out the roster along with minimum salaries players.
After using more than $20 million in cap space last week on Arron Afflalo and Robin Lopez, the Knicks added two young frontcourt players over the weekend.
On the periphery, Derrick Williams seems like he makes sense as an addition. He is only 24, was a former No. 2 overall selection of the Minnesota Timberwolves back in 2011, and averaged 19.5 points and 8.3 rebounds on 59.5 percent shooting as a sophomore at Arizona.
The Knicks are in a long-term rebuild and getting a player with that type of upside is exactly the type of asset they should be targeting. There's talent there, but so far the problem has been he hasn't been able to successfully tap it in the NBA.
At this point, dreadful is the only real way to describe Williams' NBA career. He has averaged just 9.3 points and 4.3 rebounds, while shooting just 43 percent from the field and 30 percent from 3-point land.
The problem starts with the fact that he is a tweener. He has struggled to find a position in the NBA after dominating physically at power forward at Arizona. At just 6-foot-8, he hasn't been able to score and rebound with any level of consistency at power forward and doesn't have the perimeter skills to play small forward. With the downsizing of NBA frontcourts, his frame and athleticism should allow him to play the stretch four position, but so far he hasn't shot well enough to do that.
Williams' effort and motivation have also been questioned. After a zero-rebound performance against the Utah Jazz in April, a game in which he played 26 minutes, George Karl took a shot at his young forward, saying, "You shouldn't be playing 20 minutes a game and not get a rebound. I mean, the Coke machine can get a rebound some nights. Sometimes we have guys play 20, 25 minutes a game and don't get a rebound, and I don't understand that."
Despite excellent athleticism, Williams is ranked by most defensive metrics as one of the worst power forward defenders in the NBA. He is not considered a player with a high basketball IQ and he misses too many assignments. Offensively, he isn't known as a good passer or distributor, but instead someone that looks for his own shot more times than not.
The bright side on Williams is that he did play well the final six games of last season, averaging more than 17 points per game, grabbing just under five rebounds, and shooting 48 percent from the field in 28 minutes. He only shot 25 percent from behind the arc, making the idea of him being a stretch four just that, a stretch. Unless Williams blossoms and shows great improvement, giving him a two-year, $10 million contract with a player option seems like the worst of the Knicks' moves so far in free agency.
Many have theorized that it will be Williams that will play next to Carmelo Anthony in the starting lineup, since both are forwards that can play both spots. But given both Williams' and Anthony's defensive problems, it is not a good fit. Putting a player next to Anthony that can space the floor would make a lot more sense.
The Knicks' other addition, via a sign and trade (cash and the rights to swap second round picks) with Orlando, was power forward and center Kyle O'Quinn. At just 25, O'Quinn has put up solid per-36 minute numbers over the first three years of his career (13 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.1 blocks) and has shown a fairly well-rounded game that should help the Knicks in different ways.
Though he doesn't have a very well-developed low-post game, O'Quinn can make use of his 6-10, 250-pound build and 7-5 wingspan to power and finish near the basket. He has developed a nice touch in the lane, and from the mid-range with a little jumper. He tried to stretch out to the 3-point line last year with minimal success but that is something he has said he would be working on over the summer. O'Quinn is considered a solid defender and good rebounder. He's only averaged 15 minutes a game during his career and has issues fouling on defense, so there are fair questions as to how he will handle an increased minute load.
O'Quinn is also a local kid from Flushing (and a lifelong Knicks fan) and all reports indicate he will be a good teammate and a positive in the locker room. The Knicks acquired a young player that is still improving and have him under their control for four years at just $4 million per season. It might be their best overall value move in free agency. He will be an excellent backup to Lopez, and could theoretically be a starter at power forward if the Knicks decide to play big, (which in my opinion is a bad, bad, bad, bad idea).
The Knicks will use their remaining cap space to try and find one or two players to fill out the roster. There was a lot of talk about Jason Smith returning but his skills (at least offensively) overlap with O'Quinn's a bit. There's a better chance the Knicks use that money to try and tempt back Alexey Shved, who could give the team a much-needed offensive spark in the backcourt. Or they could look elsewhere to find some more perimeter scoring. Minimum deals for guys like Lance Thomas or Lou Amundson, are also possibilities.
The Knicks now have nine players on their roster: Anthony, Kristaps Porzingis, Williams, O'Quinn, Lopez, Cleanthony Early, Jerian Grant, Jose Calderon and Afflalo. They are also likely to pick up the non-guaranteed contracts of Ricky Ledo and Langston Galloway. Are they a playoff team? Probably not, but they are certainly on their way back to respectability as the front office has shown they have a plan they are sticking to.
Follow John on Twitter at @Schmeelk
