Rockets signing Troy Williams

Was Williams offered a 3yr deal?

 

I was thinking the same...maybe we're just paying to have some sort of priority over him if we want to sign him this summer? But if we could've sign him now with a 3 year minimum and partially guaranteed deal i'm not sure why this would make sense...

 

DM actually has been pretty average to bad at this types of pickups. Guys he didn't draft, that he then makes a move to acquire. Obviously there are exceptions -PBev being the most obvious.

 

Caught the first half of the Vipers game (3-21-17) today, and I'm sure it's one that Troy wants to forget really soon. His stat line was very pedestrian, (5-15 shooting) and his -15 (+ -) tells quite a bit.

What I was most discouraged by was his defense. He made a lot of amateur type plays: stabs at the ball, lots of standing around flat-footed, little recognition and help defense on a drive (like what you see at the local YMCA), completely losing 3-point shooters early in shot clock, and fouling out in only 25 minutes of play.

If I give him the benefit of the doubt, in the last few games, I think he's has taken a pounding (along with a pretty healthy dose of minutes). It could be that he's a little banged up and that affected his game tonight (especially his shot and his effort on D). Everyone has a bad day, but this game showed a lot of negatives.

Williams has got such an opportunity to use his athletic giftedness to impose his will on defense. His shooting is still too streaky to count on. And if he's not making shots, there's only so much offense you can get out of hard cuts to the basket and drives in the NBA.

I think my initial read about a sudden call-up may have been over-eager. Barring injuries, I think he's got a lot of work to do on being a professional on defense. I still really like him, but I have to call it like I see it.

 

If he held on to past Vipers James Johnson, Robert Covington and Hassan Whiteside his record and ours would be A1.

 

It's only so much you can learn in the Dleague and it's really a no win situation for the player and the team after a while. Troy had been playing well but everyone will discount his performances because it was in the Dleague. If he has a subpar outing it gets overblown because it was in the Dleague. Bottom line he can't prove himself vs NBA players until he gets another shot in the NBA.

 

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Yup lol. Troy Daniels, Tarik Black and Robert Covington have carved out nice careers for themselves too after Morey plucked them from among the undrafted. Seems like he's good at finding, but not necessarily keeping, these types of prospects. Interesting because they're all guys who could probably help us now, in one way or another.

 

Hope to see him play

 

Alan Williams was another good find for the Rockets, although he didn't end up making the NBA squad.

In fairness, Troy Daniels was TRADED as part of the package to get Corey Brewer from Minnesota. The Rockets got "value" for him, as opposed to just waiving him.

 

I bet he wishes he still had Covington. Perfect Ariza replacement in the next couple of years.

 

No reason he still can't be. If Morey strikes out on Heyward/George/Butler over the next year, Covington is an unrestricted free agent in 2018. Very logical replacement for an aging Ariza, and it's highly possible the sixers won't be willing to pay Covington with Simmons in the fold.

 

Yes, to clarify my last comment, DM is decent at finding gems in the rough, but less so at keeping those guys on the team which makes him generally meh overall in that regard. I think he's always trying to find higher upside guys... which is why he's attracted to a guy like KJ, and why he didn't go ahead and lock up a guy like Alan Williams.

 

Agreed. But to be fair there's something to be said about churning the bottom of the barrel.

Really wish rockets still had Covington. He always had a nice jumper. Definitely didn't look like he'd become the plus defender he is now though.

Alan Williams could be a double double machine, or what Dejuan Blair should have been, but watching how he got exposed by Skal Labissiere makes me think he's not a good fit for this team.

Hopefully this Williams sticks around. As exciting as signings and trades are, it's cool to see internal development with younger players.

 

One way to KEEP these guys coming up is using the new 2-way contracts. Troy Williams could be a candidate for this next season.

Larry Coon wrote a nice, informative article about 2-way contracts. I posted it in the NBA Dish forum. Check it out.

http://bbs.clutchfans.net/index.php...new-two-way-contracts-change-the-game.281487/

 

What's the latest in Troy?

 

That's the tough part as it's all about timing when it comes to keeping. We've been a team that has been shooting for the playoffs and beyond every year with Harden which leaves less room for player development than a middling team. While I sometimes get called a Morey fanboy or apologist, you can't deny his eye for talent considering all the players that have gone through the Rockets or Vipers.

 

And you know Morey has already poured over every detail and knows how these new contracts work forward and backwards. We've been a pioneer in using our D-League to develop talent like in the MLB and I expect more of the same.

Previously, you had to commit "heavily" to these players (Whiteside, Taylor, Black, Covington, etc.) which tied up roster spots, money, and cap space which was the issue of "keeping" players while trying to win as many games as possible. These new 2-way contracts allow more flexibility.

 

I'd consider undrafted players part of this and he's had pretty good success with them. Most notably Chuck Hayes.

 

Yeah, but let's put this in perspective : Tarik Black can barely get minutes on the Lakers, and it's not like he's setting the world on fire when he does. Robert Covington scores points here and there, but Corey Brewer is a sharpshooter compared to him. Covington just happens to put up a lot of shots to average a decent number of points on one of the crappier teams in the league. KJ McDaniels was great for them, too, and will probably be putting up points for Brooklyn. It all boils down to who else is going to stop them from getting minutes on those teams? Good teams probably will have players that stop them from getting minutes. Troy Daniels was a lethal volume 3 point shooter in the D-League. In the NBA, the more minutes he gets, the more average he looks. He's still a pretty good 3 point shooter, but nothing exceptional, and the rest of his deficiencies don't make up for his non-elite 3 point shooting as he gets more minutes. The only one I think got away was Whiteside, but he had been around the league to different teams and all of a sudden decided to wake up 4 or 5 years later and play to his potential. The Kings, Grizzlies, Rockets, and multiple D-League teams had him before the Heat, but he never stood out until he went to China... and, well, that's Chinese competition.

I don't blame any organization for letting players like Whiteside go, but I still regret the Rockets/Vipers didn't keep him after having him multiple times (duh). Players like Covington, Black, Daniels, etc.? No great team should be giving them major minutes unless they're desperate, so whatever.