NBA Draft 2020: Best/worst fits for this year’s consensus lottery picks
By Trevor Marks
Patrick Williams, F, Florida State
Best: San Antonio Spurs (11)
Gone are the days where RC Buford and Gregg Popovich would scour the college and international scene for polished, unheralded, skill-focused players that they could plug and play in San Antonio. The definition of a “Spursy” guy has changed in recent years, with a clear shift toward betting on unpolished prospects with an abundance of physical tools and functional athleticism.
Patrick Williams is a picturesque example of this new coveted archetype, and the Spurs could be just the team to extract whatever scoring upside Williams possesses. Whether they can improve his lower body biomechanics and muscle imbalances is another question, but the track record of skill development and improvement is there in San Antonio.
Worst: Detroit Pistons (7)
General manager Troy Weaver is fond of physically-gifted athletes and is rumored to have made a promise to Williams with the seventh overall pick, but Detroit might not be the best landing spot for the youngest college player in the class.
Blake Griffin is still under contract for another two seasons, Christian Wood should be re-signed, and a first-round pick was just used on combo forward Sekou Doumbouya last year, so it’s unclear whether Williams would have a path to playing time in his first year or two in the league, or whether he’d be placed into an optimal role.
The idea that he can be a big wing at the next level is an attractive one, but it’s one that requires significant effort cleaning up his lower body biomechanics and developing polish as an on-ball weapon. If minutes at the four aren’t readily available, he may be thrust into time at the three earlier than he should be, which may not be ideal.
Personnel changes happen unpredictably and such concerns could be wiped away, but for the time being, there are better fits for Patrick Williams. The Pistons would be better off acquiring backcourt help with this pick anyway, given the prospects (Killian Hayes, Kira Lewis) that should be on the board.