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Knicks: Phil Jackson Explains Why He Signed Derrick Williams

By William Lee

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When New York Knicks came into an agreement to sign Derrick Williams to a $10 million over two-year deal, it came as a bit of a surprise to most.

Many were left scratching their head, wondering why commit the money to someone who was so unproven. Williams has not lived up to to being the second overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, to say the least… In five seasons, Williams career average of 9.3 points and 4.3 rebounds has not lived up to they hype.

In the final installment of Charley Rosen’s The Phil Files on ESPN, Phil Jackson went in-depth as to why he made the commitment to the former number two pick, Derrick Williams.

"“A lot of people have questioned our signing Derrick, but I think he has a considerable upside. He runs, finishes in early-offense situations and has the strength to finish in a crowd when he attacks the rim from the wing. He’s working on his 3-point shooting and his intermediate game. I also think he can play power forward against certain opponents.“I mean, there’s no doubt that Derrick has the talent, size and strength to be a more-than-capable NBA player. However, his development has been hindered by several factors. From the start of his pro career, being the second overall draft pick has been like an albatross around his neck, something that he, and lots of other people, felt a lot of pressure to live up to. I told him that right now he’s an NBA player and it no longer makes any difference where he was drafted. He just has to learn how to play the game the right way. That means developing a defensive mindset, developing an intermediate game and improving his long-range shooting.“Another reason why Derrick hasn’t really blossomed was that he never found a comfort space in an NBA offense, which means that his role was never clearly defined. Was he a post-up or a pull-up scorer? Was he a small or a power forward? Hopefully, he can find those answers with us.“Derrick is an L.A. kid, so he saw plenty of Lakers games. That, and his studying of videos on YouTube, has him confident that he already knows the triangle.“Anyway, Derrick is a player who will hopefully find his way back into a starter’s role.”"

Hmmm, very interesting that Jackson believes that Williams’ ceiling can eventually be a starter for the Knicks.

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Jackson mentioned that Williams is working on his three-point shooting, Williams is a career 30.1% three-point shooter. Last season Williams shot 31.4% from downtown, which was an improvement from the year prior (2013-2014) of 26.3%. Williams shot a career high 33.2% in his sophomore year (2012-2013), making a career high of  65 three-point field-goals.

In Williams’ personal Instagram account, he posted a video of himself working on the aforementioned intermediate game Jackson spoke about. Last season Williams shot 35.4% from 15-19 ft., per NBA.com. Williams shot 40.6% from this area of the floor in his sophomore year, per NBA.com, let’s hope he can at least get back to that kind of level of shooting from 15-19 ft.

Jackson alluded to Williams’ confidence in his knowledge of the triangle offense, and in an interview with BBall Breakdown, he expressed as much. Here’s to hoping Williams can actually execute the triangle offense as properly as he believes he can.

Jackson is hoping Williams will become a solid basketball player with a defined role in New York, but what exactly will that role be?

Next: Knicks: With a Solid Off-Season, Which Teams Can New York Leapfrog?

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