6 most interesting 10-day contracts this NBA season

3. Derrick Williams

The former second overall pick has not lived up to the hype. Plain and simple. He came out of his two years at Arizona University with the expectation to be one of the next NBA superstars. All of the tools were there for Williams. Long arms and a big frame paired with his freak athleticism were too much to pass up for any team in the lottery. Drafted by the Timberwolves in 2009, he spent two full seasons with the Wolves. Then he began to bounce around the league. He spent time with the Sacramento Kings, New York Knicks, and most recently the Miami Heat. Never quite finding his footing, Williams would be doomed to be in a bench role for most of his career.

Williams started the season with the Miami Heat and played a total of 25 games for the Heat, averaging 15.1 minutes per game. The hopes were set high again for Williams to start for the Heat. That experiment failed as Miami ended up waiving Williams and they signed the rookie Okaro White for the rest of the season. Williams was floating in the free agency pool and the Cleveland Cavaliers, now without their starting power forward Kevin Love, needed another big who could play bench minutes and give Richard Jefferson a break when he needed one.

Williams seemed to be a good fit so the Cavaliers signed him to a short-term contract on Feb. 9 and then one more on Feb. 22. Ultimately the Cavaliers decided that they would need Williams until Love could come back, so he was signed on for the rest of the season. Williams has appeared in 12 games so far for the Cavaliers and is averaging 22.8 minutes of action for the reigning NBA champions. Even though Williams can be a bit of a liability on the defensive end of the floor, the depth he gives the Cavs is important. Cleveland need Williams, at least until Kevin Love returns from his injury.