New York Knicks: Troy Williams earned 2-year deal

New York Knicks small forward Troy Williams earned his two-year contract with his play on two 10-day deals.

The New York Knicks have been doing a lot of losing recently. Since Jan. 30, when they completed their season sweep of the Brooklyn Nets, the Knicks have won once. That is not a typo. In 18 games, the Knicks are 1-17.

The only positive to that is that New York actually owns its first round pick this year. All of those losses have essentially secured a top-10 pick for the Knicks, with a chance to move up in the draft.

Suffering through all these losses isn’t an easy thing to do. However, the Knicks have had an opportunity to evaluate some younger talent given the state of the team. That is part of the reason the Knicks acquired point guard Emmanuel Mudiay from the Denver Nuggets in a three-team trade prior to the NBA Trade Deadline.

Everyone has wanted to see what Mudiay has, in addition to the other young point guards, Trey Burke and Frank Ntilikina. Point guard has been a problem for years and they are hoping one of those players emerge.

Another player the Knicks acquired that is worth watching is Troy Williams. Williams fell victim to the numbers game with the Houston Rockets. After the Rockets signed Joe Johnson, someone had to go and Williams was waived.

Going from the Rockets, a legitimate NBA Finals contender, to the Knicks, a team looking to the future, is tough. However, Williams was presented with an opportunity to play with the Knicks, something he wasn’t able to receive with Houston.

Williams took the opportunity and ran with it. After signing two 10-day contracts with the Knicks, Williams locked down a longer contract with the team. Williams and the Knicks agreed to a two-year deal, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo! Sports.

According to Charania, the deal covers the remainder of this season, in addition to partial guarantees for next season as well. No contract numbers were shared, but it figures to be a minimum deal as the Knicks used their other exceptions and have no other cap space.

Michael Scotto of The Athletic also adds that there are trigger dates in Williams’ deal. Those dates give the Knicks an opportunity, if they so choose, to release Williams and not have much money of dead cap space.

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While that may not sound like much, given what other free agents are earning on the open market, this is quite an accomplishment for Williams. He earned this two-year deal.

Landing a 10-day contract is difficult enough. You are joining a new team without much knowledge of how they do things. Showing enough promise in those 10 days to land a second 10-day deal is impressive enough. Landing a deal beyond that and the player really earned it.

Williams was given a chance with the Knicks right off the bat and he made the most of it. In the first game, he was eligible to play in, Williams received six minutes. He scored four points and was inserted into the rotation after that.

Williams would play at least 13 minutes in six consecutive games, and seven of the next eight. He performed well, scoring in double-figures three times, including a career-high 18 against the Milwaukee Bucks. In his first game with extended action, Williams scored 14 against the rival Boston Celtics.

Williams brings an added dimension to the Knicks that they were lacking. His athleticism is welcomed in New York, as they lacked explosion on the wing. His defensive acumen is also nice to see.

Per 36 minutes, Williams has impressive averages of 19.5 points and 8.4 rebounds, according to Basketball-Reference. In addition, his defensive rating of 105 with the Knicks is tied for best on the team with Kyle O’Quinn. Joakim Noah also has a 105 defensive rating, but he has played only 40 minutes; even Isiah Hicks and Luke Kornet have passed Noah in minutes played this season.

While the sample size is still relatively small, Williams has done enough to warrant a longer look from the Knicks. Given the contract the two sides agreed to, the Knicks will have a chance to see Williams throughout the offseason.

There is a good chance that he is held onto. At 23 years old, Williams still has plenty of room to grow. The Knicks don’t have much youth on the wing. Lance Thomas isn’t long for the team, while Michael Beasley is better suited at power forward.

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Williams gives New York a young player to try and develop on the wing. He won’t cost the team much and is one of the younger players on the roster. It is a worthwhile gamble keeping him. Thomas was another player that played his way into a long-term deal off 10-day contracts. Hopefully, Williams can do the same.

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