Lucus Williamson
The Lakers are looking for a defender. Is he the guy?
Terquavion Smith, Julian Strawther, and Pete Nance withdrawing from the draft was a bit of a surprise. I was confident that Terq would get a guaranteed 1st round contract, while Nance and Strawther likely took feedback from the process to improve their games at the NCAA level. They made decisions that are best for them.
That leaves the undrafted free agent market that much slimmer.
I checked my twitter timeline, only to find this:
And this was my reaction:
A Shorter Prospect List
Earlier in the day, someone on my timeline asked who were some favorite 2nd round or undrafted free agent prospects.
I answered.
Now, I had written a bit about Julian Champagnie, Keon Ellis, Trevion Williams, and Aminu Mohammed. I’m still working through the remaining list.
However, there is one player that I didn’t list and that is Lucus Williamson.
A Different Approach
This is usually the point where I look into a player’s skills and find out what they do best, if there’s enough ancillary skills to stay on the floor if things aren’t going well, but this time around, I wanted to start with intangibles.
Intangibles are a key ingredient to the draft process too. Imagine you’re in a team situation. Do you really want a talented person next to you, that isn’t easy to get along? That somehow, he or she makes work, feel like work, instead of something enjoyable or sharing a passion about? It makes for a miserable experience. Now imagine that for 82 games, all practices, team functions, and occasional workouts. It has to be rough.
Ideally, you want to have someone join your team, that makes working hard feel rewarding, that makes the season feel easy, yet challenging, and maybe even someone that can set an example for the team.
This interview for me, is what that sounded like.
Click for the interview here, since Substack isn’t being edit friendly today.
While he went through tough tournament losses, he seemed to enjoy the experience. He understands what the Laker brand is all about, and also has a friend on the team in Talen Horton-Tucker.
He also grew up a Kobe guy.
When I read draft talk about “draft by fit,” it’s usually tied to positional fit on a roster as a lead to get more playing time on the floor. I agree that playing time leads to player development, but the margins are slimmer when teams are looking for playoff success and championships.
Williamson, comes off as a culture fit. That is far more important than making way for playing time. There’s nothing wrong with having veterans ahead of players in playing time, as long as younger players are learning and maximizing the opportunities they do get.
Okay, Now The Skills
If there’s one thing Williamson is known for, it’s defense. Now, there isn’t a ton of game tape on Williamson on YouTube, but he showed A LOT in 2:42 here.
The video starts with him taking a charge, which I found funny considering how early in the game it actually was. It’s just rare to see that happen.
He shows a solid base of offensive skill, being able to drive left or right with a speed dribble, and looks comfortable shooting from range, pulling up from midrange, and attacking with straight line drives. While he doesn’t appear to be the most explosive player offensively, his athleticism does show with great reflexes and defensive anticipation, defensive IQ, and tremendous lateral quickness.
This defensive sequence at 0:24 is EVERYTHING. Ever watch a player get attacked twice defensively and get stops both times?
Here we see Williamson just in the key, fighting off an opponent trying to get post position.
Notice where the opponent gets the post pass, 2’ away from the initial spot.
The opponent starts driving right, and Williamson’s feet are perfectly square to the offensive player’s shoulder, and he fights off position with his feet first, chest second.
The opponent counters by spinning away.
The opponent takes a step back, does a pump fake, and Williamson closes out the distance altogether, so he can’t get a clean shot.
So the opponent kicks out, gets the ball back, and goes into Iso mode, this time with a catch behind the 3-point line.
He rips through and attacks, trying to get a step on Williamson.
Williamson catches up and cuts off the drive lane.
Williamson contests the shot, with almost zero airspace left. This results in a miss.
Even if it didn’t result in a miss, it’s excellent defense. Awareness first. Feet second. Chest third. Hands last. He doesn’t commit a foul despite getting attacked twice defensively, denies the first shot altogether, and makes the second shot especially tough. Official player sizes haven’t been listed for Williamson, but it’s clear, defensively, he plays bigger than his size.
In fact, throughout the video, he closes out on a shooter and denies the baseline altogether, shows verticality at the rim with two hands straight up to contest a shot, and anticipates passing lanes when the opponent is pressured defensively. These are very well rounded, high-level defensive skills that players don’t just enter the draft with.
His Best Play On Offense
While he isn’t known for being a go-to shot creator, he does exhibit some change of direction, mid-speed, on the same drive. He’s a lot more comfortable driving in straight-lines and getting ready for contact at the rim, but I did like this flash of creativity at 1:39:
Drive right, crossover to the left after the first step, gains some yardage, and then spins back to the strong hand for the finish. Good play that compensates for burst by gaining advantage through change of direction and leveraging strength to gain position as he gets to the cup.
This last play to create an open look with a step back 3-pointer was also great.
Sometimes a player just needs to hit the brakes once a defender is on his heels, take a step back and get the opening. I like that.
He Can Play
He’s not going to be asked to be a shot creator next level. During his workout interview with the Lakers, there was talk about him expanding his playmaking ability so he can play point guard. I’d rather have him be a more deadly 3-point shooter with that great defensive ability. I was a big fan of DeAnthony Melton, and those who remember (shout out to Sabreena Merchant, who is an excellent twitter follow), remember how upset, or in her words, apoplectic I was that the Lakers passed him up. I had him ranked 15th on my board back then and he’s a positive contributor for the playoff level Grizzlies.
Well, Williamson is that kind of mold. No, he’s not as young, and may not be as quick off the dribble, but he’s every bit the laterally quick, physical defender, that has a knack for forcing tough shots and creating turnovers.
The Lakers need guys like that, at every position.
I love that he acknowledged that players have different paths when he was asked about Talen Horton-Tucker. If I had my way, his path would be on the South Bay Lakers, get a two-way contract, get stronger, refine the shot, and have a specific point-of-attack defender for the parent team down the line.
Appreciate the write-up. All I knew about him before was his connection to THT. When I saw his name on the workout list, I admittedly glanced right over it and went for the two names in which I was most familiar: Scottie Pippen, Jr. and Hyunjung Lee.
But not anymore….
Would love to have a strong POA guy once more like we had with AC. That’s what has me so excited at the thought of getting Keon Ellis. But, judging by your write-up, he, too, might be able to be that guy after some seasoning in the G-League. Look forward to following his career path after this…