NBA Mock Draft 6.0: Is anyone’s ceiling higher than Anthony Edwards?
By Ian Levy
At some point, the Spurs are going to be moving on from the veteran core of DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge (DeRozan has a player option for next year, Aldridge has one more year on his deal). When that happens, San Antonio should be relatively well-positioned to hand the reins over to Dejounte Murray, Lonnie Walker IV and, hopefully, Derrick White. That group presents a solid foundation of shooting, creation and backcourt defense and this draft should give the Spurs a chance to add to their frontcourt.
Williams didn’t even start for Florida State as a freshman but his per-36 minute stats were impressive — 16.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.8 blocks — and hint at considerable and versatile upside. He has the size and quickness to defend 3s and 4s and enough rim-protection instincts to conceivably work as a small-ball 5 in certain matchups. The biggest questions are how much better he can get as a shooter and creator but he made some solid pick-and-roll reads as a ball-handler and he shot 32.0 percent on 3-pointers and 83.8 percent from the free-throw line. He’s exactly the kind of multi-tool player the Spurs always seem to get the most out of.
Learn more about Patrick Williams with our full scouting report.