Cleveland Cavaliers: Derrick Williams Signing Second 10-Day Contract, What It Means For The Team

Derrick Williams will sign a second 10-day contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Derrick Williams is signing his second 10-day contract before Wednesday’s practice.

Initially, there was speculation that the team would wait until Thursday to re-sign Williams in case they needed to use his roster spot in a trade. However, the team could still terminate Williams 10-day contract and re-sign him for the rest of the season after they waive the other player if he signs a 10-day contract.

The most obvious reason for why Williams is being signed now, with the uncertainty surrounding the Cleveland Cavaliers trade moves, is that the team doesn’t want another team to sign Williams. By leaving him there as a free agent, other playoff contenders have a chance to swoop in and sign a player who was recently cited as a player the team believes will help give them a unique advantage over the Golden State Warriors in a potential NBA Finals rematch.

Williams, who averaged 9.8 points on 60.0 percent shooting from the field and 37.5 percent shooting from three-point range during his first stint with the Cavs was ultra-efficient because he played off the shooters on the Cavs team. He would run to the rim in fullcourt and drive or cut the rim in the halfcourt which, with his athleticism, was hard for opposing teams to counter since they didn’t want to leave the Cavs shooters unattended.

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Williams was efficient shooting from three-point range himself, particularly from the corners. Corner threes were 50.0 percent of all of Williams’ three-point attempts and he converted 50.0 percent of those attempts.

Where Williams was most useful for the Cleveland Cavaliers is defense. With his length and mobility, it’s hard for guards to get past him and with his size, he can handle playing against both forwards and the occasional center.

His ability to guard all five positions is only matched by LeBron James and when Williams shares the court with James in a positionless lineup that also features Richard Jefferson, Channing Frye and Kyle Korver, the Cavs are able to play what can only called “small-ball bully-ball”. They’re a mobile group that can switch everything defensively and space the floor offensively while still being a solid rebounding group.

In any case, the Cleveland Cavaliers will get a chance to explore how Williams will impact the team for the rest of season. This contract is just another step towards that.

Related Story: The Versatility Of Derrick Williams Will Benefit The Cavs

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