NBA Draft 2011: Why Derrick Williams IS Not a Power Forward

As the NBA draft approaches, the Minnesota Timberwolves are favored to take Arizona's Derrick Williams with the 2nd overall pick. Some think this would be a bad move for the Wolves because Williams is listed as a power forward, a position where Minnesota is stacked (Kevin Love, Michael Beasley, and Darko Milicic, who was converted to center).

Williams is the consensus second best player in the draft, but many are advising Minnesota to draft center Ernes Kanter or trade away the pick. I, however, think those choices would be a mistake.

Minnesota has the highest pick in team history and is also notorious for trading away it's draft picks (Ray Allen, Brandon Roy, O.J. Mayo, Mario Chalmers). Derrick Williams would be a great pick for Minnesota because he is a rare talent, and he is not a power forward.

Draft scouts have called Williams an undersized 4 with comparisons to Carlos Boozer, Michael Beasley, and Amare Stoudemire. He also has been compared to Andre Iguodala, Carmelo Anthony, and dare I say it, a less talented LeBron James.

Here are a few reasons why Derrick Williams will not be a PF in the NBA

Williams is listed as 6'8" 240lbs. That means he is the same size as LeBron James coming into the league. LeBron seems to be doing just fine as a small forward, and often as a point guard.

At Arizona, Derrick Williams did everything. Yes, he played power forward, but he also drove and played above the rim, handled the ball, and took it up the court at times.

He shot 57 percent from beyond the 3 while in college. To put that in perspective, Kevin Durant was considered a pure shooter at Texas, but shot 17% less than Williams.

Many players shift down a position when they get to the NBA. Boozer was a center at Duke, Beasley was a PF converted to SF, and Russell Westbrook was SG.

Williams even said he is not a power forward. "Yeah, I'm not a power forward, I want to clear that up. I'm a small forward that can play the four."

Williams can play just about any position, but if the team that drafts him is smart, they will not put him at PF. LeBron James and Magic Johnson were both his size, but teams were wise enough to let them play their natural positions.

Hopefully, whichever team drafts Derrick Williams will be smart enough to look past his size and realize he belongs at small forward.