Ridiculous Upside: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:


Pro Quality. Fan Perspective.
Login-facebook

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

Otto Kitsinger/NBAE/Getty Images

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?

  52 votes | Results

0 recs  |  Comment 3 comments  |  Add comment |

Story-email Email Printer Print

More from Ridiculous Upside

Brian Butch Butchered 'Birds Last Night In The D-League

Feb 2010 by Scott Schroeder - 0 comments

Q&A; with Tulsa 66ers Latavious Williams

Feb 2010 by kgh23 - 1 comment

Latavious Williams' Scouting Report via Draft Express

Feb 2010 by Scott Schroeder - 7 comments

Comments

Display:

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, 2025 3:10 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

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, 2025 7:01 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

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, 2025 8:23 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs


User Tools

Welcome to Ridiculous Upside, your first stop for NBA prospect info! RU - Where Potential Is Way Cooler Than Reality!
Start posting on Ridiculous Upside »

Join SB Nation and dive into communities focused on all your favorite teams.

Connect_with_facebook

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recent FanPosts

All She Wants to Do is Dance
Potatohead_small
Playoff clarity for the Idaho Stampede starts tonight...
Potatohead_small
The Backstretch for the Idaho Stampede
Small
Dream Factory Friday - What a Joke
Small
A Player's Life in the D-league
Small
San Fran Chronicle writer thinks Warriors should call up IA Energy Starting Five
Small
A Whopper of a Game in the D-League
Small
Maurece Rice
Small
Who would you call-up to the New Jersey Nets?
Small
D-League 101

+ New FanPost All FanPosts >

SBNation.com Recent Stories

+1 updates

Durant, Green Allow Thunder To Edge Celtics 109-104

Wake Forest's Al-Farouq Aminu Enters NBA Draft, Will Likely Be Lottery Pick

+1 updates

Mike Brown Admits That LeBron Called The Game-Winning Play Wednesday Night

More from SBNation.com >


Co-Grand Poobah

Ru_small Scott Schroeder

B-king_front_small Jon L

Contributor

Duke_henderson2008_01_small Aisander D

fetch9

Small kgh23

Cimg0200_small Mike Gansey