Monday, March 18, 2013
Williams steps up
By Nick Borges
Derrick Williams struggled during his rookie season in 2011-12 and for the first part of this season, but he has come on since he was inserted back into the starting lineup 29 games ago.
"He's gotten a taste of what it takes to succeed in this league," head coach Rick Adelman told the Star Tribune. "This will only help him. I think he's learning about what he has to do. We've really relied on him as one of our main scorers."
Over the last 18 games Williams is averaging 32.5 minutes, 16.8 points and 8.1 rebounds.
Williams was on the block prior to the Feb. 21 trade deadline and his increased production while Kevin Love and Andrei Kirilenko have been out may convince the front office to keep the forward out of the market, especially if he can continue to play well for the last four weeks of the season. Of course his stock has not been higher, so they could deal him in the offseason if they can get a great offer for the forward.
