2020 NBA Draft - Brew Hoop Community Draft Board: Patrick Williams Lands at 16

Patrick Williams, the stout small forward out of Florida State, is off the board next in our exercise. He’s built in the prototypical way that allows him to overwhelm defenders at the college level, but at 6’8” (6’11” wingspan) he’ll face off against opponents who won’t quake in his presence at the rim. The benefit to his game is there’s a little do-it-all-ness to it that I’m sure is appealing to Bud and the Bucks front office.

In his lone season at Florida State, he stacked a wide stat sheet, averaging 9.2 points, 4 rebounds, and one each of assists, steals and blocks. Like I said, Williams was a jack of all trades in his lone season, but unfortunately he wasn’t the king of jacking accurate shots, hitting just 32% on 1.7 3-point attempts per game. That’ll be the swing factor for a lot of teams with Williams — especially since he brings a lot more to the table as a potential ball handler. Florida State used him as a pick-and-roll ball handler at times, where he could work to get to the rim (albeit with mixed results) or pass to a weakside spot-up shooter.

Watching his highlights, the kick-out ability certainly intrigued me. His passing looks a little out of control, but the ball generally ends up where it needs to be and he dishes it at the last possible second before he might hit resistance from his defender.

As a shooter, his mechanics seem study enough, but also verging on Matthew Dellavedova revolutionary war musket (™ Frank Madden) levels of wind-up speed. I doubt teams would even pay him too much mind to start unless he proves he could hit from deep consistently though. His pull-up shots look a little smoother if he were to handle the ball more at the next level. He did also hit 83.8% of his free throw attempts, so clearly there’s some room for upside as a potential shooter. He also seems intuitive offensively, flashing for back-cuts and finding his way into offensive rebound finishes at the rim.

Defensively, it sounds like he excels more within the team concept than as an individual stopper. Generally, as a rookie, that’s about all a coach could ask for though. If Williams came in immediately and fit within Bud’s scheme as a guy who could chase shooters, tag rollers and help at the rim with his bit of blocking ability, I’m sure he could find his way into minutes as a backup wing or playing up a bit as a power forward.

If I’m the Bucks, the shooting, once again, worries me a bit, as does the seemingly okay skill level across the board. He may not even last this long, but even as a young prospect, he strikes me as a wing replacement who may not up the talent level considerably over some of the bench options Bud’s had in the past. Then again, his size may help him stand out if the shot comes around.

Let’s keep it rolling with our next prospect poll.

This poll will close at 2 pm (CST) on Friday, November 6.

Brew Hoop Draft Board Rankings

1. Anthony Edwards, SG, Georgia
2. LaMelo Ball, PG, Illawarra Hawks
3. James Wiseman, C, Memphis
4. Deni Avdija, SF, Israel
5. Isaac Okoro, SF, Auburn
6. Onyeka Okongwu, C, USC
7. Killian Hayes, PG, France
8. Obi Toppin, PF, Dayton
9. Devin Vassell, SG, Florida State
10. Tyrese Haliburton, PG, Iowa State
11. Aaron Nesmith, SF, Vanderbilt
12. Tyrell Terry, PG, Stanford
13. Cole Anthony, PG, North Carolina
14. Kira Lewis Jr., PG, Alabama
15. Tyrese Maxey, SG, Kentucky
16. Patrick Williams, SF, Florida State