Just two years after making Derrick Williams the No. 2 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, the Wolves are shipping him out of town.
According to multiple reports, Williams is head to Sacramento in exchange for Kings forward Luc Mbah a Moute.
AP sources: #MNWolves trading Derrick Williams to Sacramento King for Luc Mbah a Moute: http://t.co/GLifDvIkwo
— Pioneer Press (@PioneerPress) November 26, 2013
Williams, who was touted as the most NBA-ready player in the 2011 draft, has struggled with Minnesota, never finding an offensive identity and struggling to thrive in head coach Rick Adelman’s system.
The 6’8″, 240-pound Williams played power forward at Arizona, but is small for that position at the NBA level and was wedged firmly behind superstar Kevin Love at the four. Williams hasn’t possessed the quickness or skill set to play small forward in the NBA, despite dropping weight each of the last two offseasons to attempt to do so.
A trade has been rumored for multiple offseasons, but with the drafting of Shabazz Muhammad, offseason signing of Corey Brewer, and impending return of Chase Budinger, Williams became expendable.
Mbah a Moute is in his fifth season out of UCLA. He was a second-round pick of Milwaukee, and is also 6’8″, while resting 10 lbs. lighter than Williams.
He has never averaged more than eight points per game in a season, and played in nine of the Kings’ games this season as he was recovering from a knee injury.
He was doing well enough in Sacramento to make his way into their starting unit, but he will now have to adjust to a new team, system, and city.
He is currently averaging 4.4 points and 3.0 rebounds per game, career lows.
