NBA Trade Rumors: Why Minnesota Must Get Rid of Derrick Williams

The Minnesota Timberwolves have a bit of a situation brewing: With young, talented small forwards in Michael Beasley and Derrick Williams, there is something of a power struggle.

Both young men are fighting for time on the court, both have had spurts of success and both are former No. 2 overall picks.

Tough choice.

However, I will settle this situation for the Timberwolves. The answer is not the obvious one, but ultimately, it is the one that leads to winning sooner, rather than later.

Get rid of Derrick Williams.

The former Arizona Wildcat is having a decent season, but nothing otherworldly. His averages are certainly less than eye-popping.

Right now, his greatest value is his age. At only 20 years old, Williams has a long time before the NBA gives up on him. He has years to develop an outside game, and work on his post game. There won't be demand for him to succeed at a high level for quite some time.

A man who went through his exact same situation is Michael Beasley.

Drafted number two overall by the Miami Heat in 2008, Beasley performed well, but not spectacularly.

He was, however, better than Williams in nearly every category.

Points, rebounds, field-goal percentage, free-throw percentage, three-point percentage, assists and blocks.

In fairness, he also averaged about six more minutes per game.

One of the main reasons Beasley found more early success that Williams is because Williams lacks a defined position. One of the biggest concerns about Williams coming into the draft was that he wasn't big enough to play power forward in the NBA, and wasn't athletic enough to play small forward.

Beasley doesn't share those same issues. Two inches taller than Williams, the 6'10" Beasley can easily measure up to power forwards around the NBA.

What makes Beasley even more valuable is that his perimeter game is far better than Williams'. This season, Beasley is averaging a spectacular 42 percent from three-point range, compared to 24 percent from Williams.

Beasley is grabbing almost six boards a game in 25 minutes, while Williams is bringing down only four rebounds in 19 minutes a game. Neither is much better than a 1:2 assist-to-turnover ratio.

The wonderful thing about this situation for the Timberwolves is that Williams does not have a lot of mileage under his belt. Having only appeared in 30 career games, many teams around the league would certainly see a great deal of value in the young forward.

Value the Wolves could capitalize on.

They could bring in expiring contracts to clear up cap space and make a splash in free agency next season. They could pick up draft picks to be used on future talent.

Or, they could bring in a decent shooting guard to fill out their rotation.

With only two real shooting guards on the roster, Wayne Ellington and Wesley Johnson, the Timberwolves certainly have the need. Neither of those two is averaging more than 5.7 points a game, despite having 32 starts between them. Johnson, in particular, is not getting it done. He averages almost 22 minutes a game, scores only 5.7 points, and has the lowest player efficiency rating on the team.

Needless to say, they could use the help at 2-guard.

With the recent emergence of 26-year old Nikola Pekovic, Minnesota suddenly appears stacked in the post. When the injured Darko Milicic returns, his minutes will certainly be reduced due to the outstanding fill-in play of Pekovic. This will leave even less room for Williams or Beasley to play any power forward for the team.

In Rick Adelman's system, small forwards are most valued for being catch and shoot three-point shooters. Ricky Rubio's development will certainly aid in getting players open for shots on the outside, and the Timberwolves will need players who can knock down threes.

While Beasley isn't exactly a prototypical three-point specialist, Williams is a mediocre shooter. He has no place in Adelman's system, whatsoever.

Ultimately, Williams is simply the odd man out. While he and Beasley are both acceptable players, Beasley fits better in the system and Williams carries more trade value. Shipping Williams off seems like the most valuable move for the Wolves, both for the present and future.