New York Knicks: Grading The Offseason

Mar 15, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Portland Trail Blazers center Robin Lopez (42) warms up before the start of their game against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Canada Centre. The Trail Blazers beat the Raptors 113-97. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /

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Mar 25, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Derrick Williams (13) against the Phoenix Suns at US Airways Center. The Kings defeated the Suns 108-99. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

The Other D-Will

Remember all that praise for Phil Jackson making smart moves after missing out on the A-listers? Maybe we should dial it back a bit now that we’re talking about the slightly inflated two-year, $10 million deal he gave Derrick Williams.

The other D-Will is one of those stretch-4s who’s not actually good at spreading the floor, shooting 31.4 percent from three-point range on 2.1 attempts per game last year. Considering his career-high from downtown is 33.2 percent on 2.5 attempts per game, Williams will have to work pretty hard to live up to his new contract, even with the salary cap set to expand by nearly $20 million by the second year of his deal (which has a player option).

Not the biggest Derrick Williams fan, but he's certainly a plus athlete. Knicks have $2.4-$4.4M plus room MLE depending on where cap falls.
— Yaya Dubin (@JADubin5) July 4, 2015

There’s also the problem that Williams is a pretty bad rebounder for his position. In the event Melo is unable to stay healthy, which has been a problem recently, the Knicks will be relying on Lopez, Williams and rookie Porzingis to hold down the boards. Yikes.

All things considered, Williams isn’t an atrocious signing. But he is pretty symbolic of how much the Knicks had to settle this summer after missing out on the big names.

Grade: C-

Next: O'Quinn Sign-And-Trade

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