What can T.J. Williams bring to the Cleveland Cavaliers?
T.J. Williams is a stud and a steal for the Cleveland Cavaliers. It’s a shock that so many teams have slept on him, although it’s understandable as he just burst onto the scene last year. Nonetheless, Cleveland is lucky to have him on their Summer League roster.
Williams has a major upside, and in my opinion, one of the biggest ones in the draft. He has superior size for a point guard and made a decent percentage (33.3) of his three-point attempts. Hopefully, his three-point numbers will improve as the Cavs player development coach Phil Handy and assistant coach Damon Jones work with him.
A pure scorer and leader, Williams led his team to wins over the University of Connecticut (UConn), the University of Vermont and Michigan State University.
At 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, Williams has a great physical profile for the position. However, he’s 22-years-old, which isn’t an ideal age for a rookie.
Still, the LeBron James Era Miami Heat made adding 25 and 26-year-old players onto their roster part of their blueprint, mixing in experienced youth with veterans who are getting long in the tooth. If the Cavs want to follow that model, after a couple of years of development Williams will the perfect age for a backup point guard the Cavaliers can trust.
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Cleveland is not in rebuild mode, obviously, so signing a tenured guard they can trust in the playoffs is imperative to their success. After spending $2.4 million on point guard Kay Felder in the 2016 NBA Draft, and investing a lot into his development, he’ll also get a shot to be the Cavs backup point guard and prove that size doesn’t always matter.
Williams averaged 21.4 points per game, 5.3 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game while playing 38.2 minutes per game and shooting a stunning 46.3 percent from the field. With his ability to make tough shots from all levels and could be a well-rounded point guard the Cavs would gladly bring off the bench.
Ideally, not only Williams would provide some stability and scoring off the bench, he’d also bring the energy and determination of an undrafted rookie. In college, he hit multiple game winners and is not one to shy away from the big moment; this shows character and poise, something the Cavaliers would love to have in a young, developing guard.
Check out his DraftExpress recruiting profile video here:
Cav fans, we have a lot to be excited about for the future.