San Antonio is moving along in the win column with a 30-22 record and are looking to end up with their own pick outside of the lottery. And this week’s prospect might help them out a ton and be solid value at their projected pick now that the mock draft “experts” are finally seeing his value.
I speak of none other than Tennessee forward Grant Williams. He’s been a monster this season and is a huge reason the Volunteers sit atop the SEC and have only one loss on the season. He’s a 6-foot-7, 240-pound grown man playing the power forward position. He’s big, strong, smart and has a never-ending motor. Here are some of his stats so far this season:
- 20.2 PPG, 1.2 SPG, 1.6 BPG, 3.6 APG, 7.3 RPG
- 57.1 FG%, 34.6 3P%, 83.9 FT%
- 134.0 ORtg, 90.2 DRtg, 32.7 PER
Williams could be a perfect small-ball four at the NBA level as the Spurs wouldn’t lose anything on offense or defense when he’s in the game. He bodies up big men well despite usually playing at a height disadvantage. However, if he were to guard true small forwards in the league he would likely struggle as he isn’t quite quick enough to guard them. But his size and strength would at least help him out a little bit there.
Offensively, the North Carolina native can be trusted in the post with the ball. He’s smart enough to get rid of it on a double-team and get it to the right guy and he’s got enough moves that he can either get to the rim or get the shot he wants. His mid-range game is excellent — something all Spurs fans surely love to hear by now — and he is a great finisher around the rim. He’s a good playmaker out of the post, but could certainly use some work on his ball handling, especially if he is going to be doing a good amount of it at the next level.
While the young man is a bit undersized and may be considered only an average athlete, he makes up for those perceived shortcomings with his intelligence, motor and shooting ability elsewhere on the floor. He’s the kind of player you want in your locker room and on the court. If the Spurs get him with their first pick, it would be a good pickup, but if they got him with the Toronto pick then it would be a downright steal.
