The Fig Cap: “Yeah… Chris Paul, who?”

Okay, Deron Williams of the Utah Jazz isn’t exactly to the point of mocking Chris Paul, arguably the first overall fantasy basketball pick, of the New Orleans Hornets, but he is more than holding his own.  Unfortunately, for Raymond Felton, the same cannot be said of him.  For those of you that don’t remember the 2005 NBA Draft, Williams was drafted third overall, Paul fourth overall, and Felton fifth overall.  While Felton is still trying to relatively find his way in the NBA, Paul and Williams are perennial All-Star caliber players and the latter should be climbing up fantasy basketball drafts as the season gets closer.  How many potential 20-10 players are there in the NBA?  Only several, and Williams is one.

Round 3, Pick 3 - Deron Williams, PG, Utah Jazz

After a solid 2005-06 rookie campaign, which was partly spent in head coach Jerry Sloan’s doghouse, Williams has improved in his two subsequent seasons and has earned a spot in the argument of who is the best lead guard in the NBA?  Okay, the top three argument as it seems like a no-brainer that Chris Paul is the best point in the Association.  In any case, D-Will isn’t too far behind, but there is room for improvement.

And speaking of improvement, that’s all Williams’ main stats have shown from year-to-year in his short three-year career.  Check it out:

Points - 10.8 to 16.2 to 18.8
Assists - 4.5 to 9.3 to 10.5
Field Goal % - 42.1 to 45.6 to 50.7
Free Throw % - 70.4 to 76.7 to 80.3
Steals - 0.8 to 1.0 to 1.1

Considering the abovementioned numbers, it’s a solid bet that D-Will can only get better, especially since he’s only going to be 24-years-old coming into the season as well as the Utah Jazz personnel basically being the same with another year of team chemistry under their belt.  This is a team that should contend in the West and one of the main reasons will be Williams.

Relative to the rest of this squad, we already have Kobe Bryant, a scorer to the maximum power, as well as David West, an up-and-coming force down low.  Adding Williams to the squad gives what this team needs, a bona-fide dime dropper that will have every opportunity to hit the double digit mark again.  The squad is looking very strong in points with great balance along all of the other categories except blocked shots.

If it wasn’t for CP3, Williams would have the title of best young one guard in the L, but so is life.  At least he isn’t relatively mediocre the way Felton is in comparison to this 2005 draft trio of points.  In any case, draft Williams for his 20-10 potential and the promise of his numbers being even better than last season’s.