What's going on with Derrick Williams?

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bynum said the other day he's considering retiring because he's in chronic pain while playing and doesn't expect to ever be playing pain free again

That article was twisted by ESPN. He more or less said that he's considered it in the past and it lingers in his mind sometimes on hard days. If you read the whole article outside of ESPN you'll see that he talks about improving and changing his game to what his body can handle more versus retiring.

[coin24]

That article was twisted by ESPN. He more or less said that he's considered it in the past and it lingers in his mind sometimes on hard days. If you read the whole article outside of ESPN you'll see that he talks about improving and changing his game to what his body can handle more versus retiring.

Yeah that's how I interpreted it also..
Would be great if he could play more

[RedBlackAttack]

Bennet actually gets minutes and is involved in the offence though he's just struggling to adjust

Huh?

Williams is averaging 18 minutes a game to Bennett's 12 minutes and that's skewed by AB's 20 minutes last night with Bynum being out.

bynum said the other day he's considering retiring because he's in chronic pain while playing and doesn't expect to ever be playing pain free again

That really isn't at all what he was trying to say. That article was totally distorted. There's zero chance he retires this year, unless he gets re-injured.

Why draft the guy then? Cavs just wasted the #1 pick and to be honest they're not looking too promising so far..
Bynum has looked good in the limited mins he's on the floor..

Look, I know the guy has looked lost 8 games into his career, but to definitively say he's a "wasted pick" this soon is baffling to me.

Being bad -- even historically bad -- in your first 10 games as a 20 y/o does not mean a guy will remain historically bad or bad at all for the remainder of his career.

Why be so quick to jump for a label? We all know he's struggling. It's duly noted. I wanted Noel badly.

But, let's keep a little perspective, shall we?

[CelticBaller]

He aint getting nothing over K love.


He's also a tweener, very hard to find a role in a league when you're one

[B-Easy8]

He is on the wrong team. Playing behind the best PF in the league and in a system that doesn't suit his game.

When he gets traded he will blow up. He can actually play both sides of the ball well and is a good rebounder.

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Yeah that's how I interpreted it also..
Would be great if he could play more

That wil increase over time. They plan to make him the starting center from here on out unless there's a set back. He got 21 minutes last game. I would expect his ceiling to bet between 25-30 minutes per game if he keeps progressing well which he has. Some of those moves he put on Noah were . Thus, Bennett playing time will decrease because they're not going to take minutes away from Varejao for Thompson.

[RedBlackAttack]

That wil increase over time. They plan to make him the starting center from here on out unless there's a set back. He got 21 minutes last game. I would expect his ceiling to bet between 25-30 minutes per game if he keeps progressing well which he has. Some of those moves he put on Noah were . Thus, Bennett playing time will decrease because they're not going to take minutes away from Varejao for Thompson.

Tristan is better than Varejao at this stage, imo, which tells me that gap is only going to grow. In fact, Tristan has been the best player on the team through the first 8 games.

I think it might be time to move Andy (for the right price). Our frontcourt is too crowded and I honestly believe a good bit of the blame for AB's horrendous start can be attributed to his simply not being able to get on the floor enough. Especially now with Zeller back healthy again, there just aren't enough minutes to go around.

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Tristan is better than Varejao at this stage, imo, which tells me that gap is only going to grow. In fact, Tristan has been the best player on the team through the first 8 games.

I think it might be time to move Andy (for the right price). Our frontcourt is too crowded and I honestly believe a good bit of the blame for AB's horrendous start can be attributed to his simply not being able to get on the floor enough. Especially now with Zeller back healthy again, there just aren't enough minutes to go around.

well someone's going to have to move. I still don't see where Bennett fits in the future. Thompson is clearly a PF 80%+ of the time where he can play spurts of center. Bennett's body clearly says PF more of the time with spurts of playing SF. I know it's early, it just felt like the safer pick was Porter Jr. I'm not a draft expert and I know you take a chance in drafts, especially when rebuilding, but they already picked against the odds with Waiters and Thompson with success. I think it was time for a safe pick. I think Porter would've fit the team well. I come to wonder if they picked Bennett to get a big to spread the floor, but surprising enough Thompson improvement this season shows he can make the mid-range jumper. And while it's not reliable now, I've seen him take a ton of more make-able jumpers this year then I did all of last season and I would think it will only improve even more. If Bynum works out long term I just don't see where Bennett fits for a #1 pick when you have Bynum, Thompson, Zeller and Bennett in there not counting Varejao.

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That wil increase over time. They plan to make him the starting center from here on out unless there's a set back. He got 21 minutes last game. I would expect his ceiling to bet between 25-30 minutes per game if he keeps progressing well which he has. Some of those moves he put on Noah were . Thus, Bennett playing time will decrease because they're not going to take minutes away from Varejao for Thompson.

Bynums footwork and post moves are godly
I was sad to see him leave LA, but he just didn't want to be there, be it motivation, Kobe or immaturity whatever the case.
Hopefully he can play 25-30mins a game!

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Bynums footwork and post moves are godly
I was sad to see him leave LA, but he just didn't want to be there, be it motivation, Kobe or immaturity whatever the case.
Hopefully he can play 25-30mins a game!

When Bynum checks in the game it's literally like eye candy, becuase no centers play like that at all in the league anymore. Hibbert has some nice flip shots, but he doesn't do the footwork like Bynum. Neither does Lopez.

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Look, I know the guy has looked lost 8 games into his career, but to definitively say he's a "wasted pick" this soon is baffling to me.

Being bad -- even historically bad -- in your first 10 games as a 20 y/o does not mean a guy will remain historically bad or bad at all for the remainder of his career.

Why be so quick to jump for a label? We all know he's struggling. It's duly noted. I wanted Noel badly.
But, let's keep a little perspective, shall we?

I'm not shitting on Bennett, he could very well pan out, I'm saying that obviously wasn't the right choice for the Cavs..
Who knows they could finally move varejao while he still has some value and Bennett could flourish

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That article was twisted by ESPN. He more or less said that he's considered it in the past and it lingers in his mind sometimes on hard days. If you read the whole article outside of ESPN you'll see that he talks about improving and changing his game to what his body can handle more versus retiring.

My bad, I read his quotes on another site that cited espn and made out like he was done. This was after he put down a dunk and was wincing and stuff wasn't it? I hope he gets back to his past form and cavs do well they've got a fun line up to watch

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When Bynum checks in the game it's literally like eye candy, becuase no centers play like that at all in the league anymore. Hibbert has some nice flip shots, but he doesn't do the footwork like Bynum. Neither does Lopez.

MArc Gasol's footwork is nice to watch, Vucevic is developing some nice footwork too along with Nicholson. Bynum has physical gifts to go along with the footwork though

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My bad, I read his quotes on another site that cited espn and made out like he was done. This was after he put down a dunk and was wincing and stuff wasn't it? I hope he gets back to his past form and cavs do well they've got a fun line up to watch

You won't get back to his past form. He won't be as explosive. To become a better center there's three things he has to keep working on. Footwork, freethrow shooting and his post-game. His freethrow shooting has been awesome. He's shooting like 90% so far this season, he has to change his style of play a little more to fit what his knees can handle. He can't be running down the floor catching alley-oops anymore.

[RedBlackAttack]

well someone's going to have to move. I still don't see where Bennett fits in the future. Thompson is clearly a PF 80%+ of the time where he can play spurts of center. Bennett's body clearly says PF more of the time with spurts of playing SF. I know it's early, it just felt like the safer pick was Porter Jr. I'm not a draft expert and I know you take a chance in drafts, especially when rebuilding, but they already picked against the odds with Waiters and Thompson with success. I think it was time for a safe pick. I think Porter would've fit the team well. I come to wonder if they picked Bennett to get a big to spread the floor, but surprising enough Thompson improvement this season shows he can make the mid-range jumper. And while it's not reliable now, I've seen him take a ton of more make-able jumpers this year then I did all of last season and I would think it will only improve even more. If Bynum works out long term I just don't see where Bennett fits for a #1 pick when you have Bynum, Thompson, Zeller and Bennett in there not counting Varejao.

To me, Bennett doesn't have to fit "as a No. 1 pick." He just needs to fit. It would be nice if he eventually became a rich man's Larry Johnson as some predicted, but at the end of the day, having a productive, solid NBA player is good enough for me. He doesn't have to be a star.

I also liked Porter in the lead-up to the draft and still do, but he looked REALLY bad in Summer League. I know that means nothing and I still expect him to be a solid starting player for the Wiz, but there are no sure things. Watch the Bill Simmons/Jalen Rose preview of the Wizards...

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-tr...rds?src=mobile

...they both said Porter has the most "bust potential" of any rookies in this class. That is just those guys' opinion, of course, but it shows you how one person's "safe pick" is another person's "potential bust."

There is no science to drafting in the NBA and I think Grant's successful Thompson "reach" and what looks like it could be another successful "reach" in Waiters didn't make him think, "now I should go safe." I think it gave him more confidence in what he sees with his own two eyes instead of just going with the crowd.

I'll also say that, in the lead-up to the draft, most people thought Noel would be back around Christmas. That was said to be a distinct possibility. Now, he's out for the year. So, that injury was more severe than was being led on.

Another guard would have made literally no sense. They obviously weren't wild about Porter. Len has his own problems.

Despite his horrid start, I'm not sure they'd do anything differently with a "do-over." Bennett still has plenty of potential and that potential is in playing a different kind of role than Thompson. Even though they technically play the same position, the NBA has become less about conventional positions and more about skillsets and how they fit together.

I still view Bennett as a sort of athletic stretch-4 who should be able to play the 3 in spurts. Thompson is a rugged, hard-nosed 4 who can play the 5 in spurts (more than just spurts, actually).

Maybe we should give it a little more time before we disown the pick. I've never seen the kind of over-the-top reactions to the first 8 games of a player's career. Yeah, he's the No. 1 pick. Yeah, struggling is an understatement so far.

But, the Cavs frontcourt is too crowded right now, resulting in him getting almost no playing time and the whole team is struggling offensively. I'm just not ready to freak out about Bennett yet.