This Saturday, Derrick Williams joined the Greek club Panathinaikos. We can say what we want, it’s a completely honorable career continuation for a second draft pick, not always up to the expectations placed on him. In a space-time frame of reference, the Euroleague is not necessarily THE fantasy of the moment, but it still has its effect on the CV.
In the family of high draft picks missing from bitter radars, we ask for Derrick Williams. Selected in 2nd position of the 2011 vintage, the strong winger passed by Minneapolis, Sacramento, New York, Miami, Cleveland and the Lakers, has just signed for a season with the Greek club Panathinaikos. Since 2018, the fake D-Will has been touring major European institutions. After spending time with Bayern, Fenerbahce and Valencia, Williams is coming off a great season with Maccabi Tel-Aviv: 9.6 points at 52% shooting including 40% from 3-pointers, 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists in “only” 21 minutes per game. At 31, his record comes down to a Turkish Cup (2019) and a league title in Germany (2019). It’s two more trophies than Dimitri Payet, but far too little for his status. That of a former Arizona Wildacts crack promised to a huge career, suddenly disappeared from the radar after a sophomore season with 12 points at 43% shooting including 33% from the parking lot, and 5.5 rebounds. It wasn’t bad in the numbers, but the mind didn’t follow.
‼️ Done deal: #DerrickWilliamspicked at No2 on 2011 #NBAdraft has agreed with @paobcgr for an one year contract. Plus, #AndrewAndrews signed 1+1 with the Greens.
✍️ more on @Eurohoopsnet and @eurohoopsGR
— StavrosBarbarousis (@sta_ba11) July 15, 2022
The info of his signing at Pana comes to us from Stavros Barbarousis – journalist for Eurohoopsnet – better known as Steven Barbarossa. Without lying, we have absolutely not followed the player since his departure from the NBA, but we know that he has never left the Euroleague since his signing at Bayern in the summer of 2018. His arrival in Greece does not no exception to the rule. This season, Pana finished in 13th place in the Euroleaguelacking little a qualification for the Final Four 2022. With Derrick Williams in his racket, the Greek institution will gain in verticality and above all, in mouth. On the floor, he is a player. Outside, it’s still a name. He is still “only” 31 years old and can have a great season with Pana. To take it in this sense is a little simplistic, but the most prestigious of European titles would repair the bust. In any case, we are in a hurry to see him at work against ASVEL and Monaco. And against Paris Basket too, surely in one or two years, when the club will have recovered its qualification by offering money and a showcase of Niska.
Will we follow him more next season? If we didn’t follow him this season when he was already playing in the Euroleague, probably not. Will we rewrite a paper on him in a year, on the occasion of his new signature, to say that we follow him more when it is false? Probably too.