Rockets have high hopes for Terrence Williams

[Dash]

Per podcast, script is courtesy of HS09 from clutchfans.

 

Daryl Morey:

 

 

Official word on Terrence Williams. Athletically, cant beat it. On D, is this where you see immediate impact and how will he be implemented?

 

A:Yeah hes definitely a 2 way player in terms of potential. Has more potential than anything right now though hasnt proven anything. Couple good runs in NJ. Already had triple double in a NBA game. Got potential to be a top starter though obviously hasnt proven that yet. Can rebound, really rebound at that position, which we need, can pass, really good ball handler. On D, got both desire and ability. Big time competitor. Have big time hopes for him over time. Early, not sure how much he'll play. That's up to coach. We got a pretty good thing going, we're winning games, guys playing well. Not sure how much he'll get in early. Talent...as long as he comes in with the right approach, his talent is so high he's gonna get on the floor. Coach Adelman is great at giving guys a shot. He'll get a shot to do show what he can do if he shows what he can do in practice.

 

Q:Wanna follow up on that, all the talk about potential and attitude, thats the story with him. You have a good locker room there, and gotta find balance of can he come in and turn things around or turn it the other ways?

 

A:Everyone tells us he's a good kid including NJ. He did get sideways with Avery Johnson. That's really been the only time in his career he had issues. Talking with Coach Pitino and I know Coach Walter McCarty well in Boston who knows Terrence well, they tell you hes a good kid and coachable. Really no issues. Talented guy who when you get with talented guys, someone who believes in his abilities and sometimes that manifests itself in ways that could get a coach upset. And I think thats what may have happened in NJ. We're gonna judge him as we know him here. Not gonna worry about the past. Clean slate and judge him as he is here and how he plays.

 

Q:We can imagine all the calls you make trying to get info on players. You wanna get those references, personal endorsments. Give us an idea of how many people you talk to in different places when trying to evaluate players you want to obtain.

 

A:We do tons of background calls. Gerrson Rosas, Sam Hinkie, our whole staff is connected to both college and pro ranks. Obviously we invest millions of dollars and whenever you do that, you're looking at every angle. I do think often that info could mislead just as often it helps. A lot of guys fall in the draft for example because their coach didnt like them in college. That info is often perfectly correct but often that info leads you not to take a talented guy. The way I describe it is....a lot of teams including us will do physcological profiles of young guys in the draft or young guys you trade for. I think of it as, you go back to yourself at age 20-21, did you know who you wanted to be, were you finished as what you were going to be as a person? Reality is no. There is no way psychologists can figure out who these guys are because they dont know who they are yet, so how is another person gonna figure them out? Often, when you're young like this, all of a sudden, they can decide I'm gonna take a fresh look at this and I'm gonna be a different guy. We'll see over time how this works out.

 

Gersson Rosas, Rockets Vice President of Player Personnel.

 

Q:Dealing with injuries, no matter who it is, you gotta move forward and keep playing, keep building this team. You made a significant move sending a future first for Terrence Williams. Thoughts on him?

 

A:We value him on many different levels. Ability to play both ends and rare to find play making wing with that level of athleticism and physical attributes. Young player, as its been documented, some risk involved but we've followed closely in college. 4 year player at Louisville. Won a lot and a guy who we aggressively pursued in the draft with NJ when they selected him. Seems we say that with a lot of guys we get but we follow these guys through college and other teams. To be honest, this deal probably took 2 years in the making. A lot of deals are like that. If you value the talent, as Daryl has said, we felt he was top 10 talent, when you got a guy who can play both ends, he got some issues like any young player. Shooting and efficiency he can improve on basketball wise. When you find a player who can impact the game on O as a playmaker and finisher and an asset in transition and then turn around on the other end, he can be a guy on D who can cover those great players and create havoc. Block shots, get steals and be a guy who can impact on the glass. In time, he can help on the defensive glass because of his mobility and athleticism. A lot to offer but young player. He is a guy we got to develop and hope he is part of the answer.

 

Q:As for his potential, you can coach him up, scout a player, get him ready and put him in position, you mentioned the issues off the court. Im guessing part of the assignment for the organization with a young raw talent is to develop a level of professionalism. You confident that can be achieved?

 

A:Definitely. We take calculated risk. We know our enviornment. Not perfect by any means. We do have a strong environment of coaches and players and staff who value winning and doing it the right way. Our history speaks for itself. Guys understand when they come here into this organization, its about different things. Its about coming together as a team and working for everything you get. That mentality has helped players in our environment in the past. We feel it will foster Terrence's development in the right way. It wont be easy but we done our homework. We understand the challenges he has had. We feel like we got the staff, coaches and players to help him. Very similar to Ron Artest when we took him on. We did our work, background, research and felt like we're gonna give it every opportunity to be successful and help him grow up and mature and develop and be a Rocket for a long time.

 

Some insight on two of the top player scouts in the organization. Great to here all these good things about Terrence, hope he can make an impact here in Houston.

Edited December 17, 2010 by Dash