Latavious Williams' NBA Draft Stock Rising... At Least It Should Be

by Scott Schroeder on Mar 27, 2010 10:00 AM EDT in D-League Game Recaps

Latavious Williams' box score is pretty good for a 21-year-old with hopes of being selected in this Summer's NBA Draft:

In 30:53 off of the bench, Williams scored 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting and grabbed 16 rebounds, five of which came on the offensive end.

Sure, he was matched up against Shagari Alleyne, Sasha Cuic and company, but that's still rather impressive.

On Thursday, NBA draft scout Ryan Blake (son of Marty) told SI.com's Paul Forrester the following about Williams draft prospects:

"What a team needs to decide is whether he is worth the risk because right now he is not close to being a sure thing. He has some versatility and athleticism, but he's still a raw individual who doesn't have a lot of game experience. And if people are going to invest in that, that's a tough decision.

"When you come around to a second-round guy, you want somebody who's ready. It doesn't matter how athletic you are, it still ends up being a team-concept game and you need to put the ball on the floor and make yourself an offensive threat or be a defensive stopper. And if there are other guys out there who are more ready, then teams are not going to take that risk on Williams."

While I agree with everything Ryan has to say, I wonder if a team might take a flier on Williams based on his athleticism and rebounding alone. While he only averages seven points and 7.5 boards per game in less than 20 minutes of action per game, he's second in the entire D-League with rebounds per 48 minutes, trailing only Dwayne Jones.

With both Williams and Jeremy Wise (16.5 points, 5.2 assists, 53% FG) draft eligible, I wouldn't be surprised to see at least one D-League prospect drafted this Summer.

What do you think?

Poll

Will a D-League player be drafted in the NBA Draft?

Yes, Latavious Williams

29 votes

Yes, Jeremy Wise

5 votes

Both D-Leaguers eligible will be drafted

16 votes

Neither will be drafted

10 votes

60 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

I'd be surprised if Williams doesn't get picked

I’d be very interested, at least. Plenty of potential, but still very productive off the bench right now. For me, that’s a great second round pickup.

Wise I’m less convinced with, but I still think he’s a decent prospect. I have no worries about his scoring ability, but NBA GMs will have questions about whether or not he can stick at PG. And it is a legitimate concern, although the last few times I’ve watched Bakersfield, his PG skill set has looked much improved over when he initially came to the league. I’d give him a serious look in the summer league, if he doesn’t get drafted.

by richardhkirkando on Mar 27, 2010 3:10 PM EDT reply actions

The thing with Wise

Is that he was also said to have issues off the court. I’ve all but confirmed that isn’t the case, but I doubt NBA GM’s are going to look as far as I did into it if they’re not excited about him right off the bat anyway.
Semi-relevant to this conversation are that his numbers are better than Mike Taylor’s and he was drafted – though Mike came off the bench, there are similarities.

I blog at Ridiculous Upside. I know you'll love it.

by Scott Schroeder on Mar 27, 2010 7:01 PM EDT up reply actions

seven and a half boards in less than 20 minutes is killer, and rebounds relate pretty well between leagues. He is a 2nd rounder (with 2 more years D League eligibility to boot) for a smart team.

by MMotherwell on Mar 28, 2010 8:23 AM EDT reply actions

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