For Arizona Wildcats Fans, Derrick Williams Is So Much More Than A Draft Pick

Derrick Williams is a special player. He'll always have a place in the hearts of Arizona Wildcat fans.

Derrick Williams NBA Draft Results: Minnesota Takes Arizona Star 2nd

The agonizingly long wait has finally ended for the heralded Arizona Wildcat, and now the fun part can begin. Despite a month of very publicly shopping the pick around, the Minnesota Timberwolves bit the bullet and drafted 6'9" forward Derrick Williams with the second overall selection in the 2011 NBA draft.

With that pick the Timberwolves grabbed what NBA scouts are calling the most ‘NBA ready' player in this year's draft. While there is some dissention regarding the position Williams will play in the pros-- he played power forward at Arizona, though some feel fits more into the mold of an NBA small forward -- there is no question that the ultra-talented 20-year old has what it takes to become a legitimate star of this league.

Stick with SB Nation Arizona for further coverage and analysis of Derrick Williams and the NBA Draft. The draft can be watched live on ESPN or streamed at ESPN3.com. The Phoenix Suns should be up soon with the 13th pick.

Derrick Williams Draft Position Still A Mystery Hours Before Pick

Tonight will be the biggest night of Wildcats forward Derrick Williams' life. That goes without saying. Yet, these are uneasy times for the Arizona superstar. Usually the destiny of a top-2 pick is settled by this point. But somehow, here we are, hours away from the 2011 NBA Draft, and Williams still has no idea where he is going to begin his basketball journey.

Despite being widely praised as the most talented, NBA-ready player in this year's draft, Williams finds himself trapped within a constant swirl of flippant skeptics and endless trade rumors. At this point, all anybody knows is he could be going anywhere from pick number one-to-five, and to any team, including the Phoenix Suns, via trade.

All reports indicate that the Minnesota Timberwolves have been furiously shopping the number two pick, despite the face that Kevin Love apparently told the organization that if Williams was available, they'd better take him. Meanwhile, the Suns continue to deny all Gortat/Nash trade allegations, though that means virtually nothing at this stage of the game. Anything appears to be on the table, so it should be interesting to see how things play out.

1500ESPN.com | Signs point to Wolves landing Enes Kanter, but not at No. 2
The Wolves think just as highly about Turkey center Enes Kanter as they do Williams. In other words, because Kanter fills a need, he's a target.

The Wolves also aren't foolish enough to take Kanter outright at No. 2 when Williams has a lot of value.

In spite of what Suns president of basketball operations Lon Babby told a Phoenix radio station -- point guard Steve Nash and center Marcin Gortat aren't being shopped -- they are for the No. 2 pick. Make no mistake: the Suns want Williams.

Sporting News | Derrick Williams unconcerned with uncertainty at No. 2
He is doing his best to keep his head in the sand on all the Wolves discussion, though. "I try to ignore it," Williams told SN. "Hopefully whatever team picks me wants me to stay, that is how I look at it. I heard Kevin Love say, if I am available at 2, he wants them to take me. I worked out with a couple of the guys already so I think if the players already like me, that would be cool."

Esquire.com | Derrick Williams: "I'm Going to Have to Get Used to Suits"
"Didn't want too baggy or too flashy, but didn't want a slim European suit, either. I stuck to my style - classy - and picked my favorite colors: black, red, and grey."

Huffington Post | NBA Draft 2011: Interview with Derrick Williams
It was ironic that Williams compared himself to current NBA player Mike Beasley, because many people --myself included -- think GM David Kahn is trying to trade Beasley.

"Honestly, I think it's pretty hard to guard two people that play similar," Williams said of Beasley. "Not too many people have two of the same players that play the same spot or different spots."

AZ Central | Arizona Wildcats star Derrick Williams is set for the next big stage
"He's really explosive, athletic," Bilas said. "When it's five-on-five, he can really rise. ... He was not an attentive weak-side defender, not great on-ball defender, but with his ability to score, I don't see anyone else going Number 2."

SB Nation | Markieff Morris Explains Anti-Derrick Williams Comments In A Weird Way
"I didn't think he was as good as advertised," Morris said. "He got the benefit of the calls from the ref and we had to guard him different. He definitely had a good game against us, because we couldn't guard him how we wanted to guard him, and that's what happened."

"It's still surprises me [that he's a top-two pick]. What he did to Duke, he wouldn't do that to me or my brother [Marcus]. I'm dead serious. He wouldn't. At all. He's good. But if we was to work out, I would go at him and I would be able to stop him more than people would expect, you know what I mean."

NBA Draft 2011: Derrick Williams Has No Position, Which Is Exactly How He Likes It

Derrick Williams is one of the top prospects in the 2011 NBA Draft, but what position does he really play? If it were up to Williams, that question would be irrelevant....

Full Story Here

NBA Draft Time For Derrick Williams, Final Mock Drafts And Trade Rumors

We are just two days away from Thursday's NBA Draft for 2011 and Arizona Wildcat Derrick Williams is getting excited if the volume of tweets from his Twitter feed is any indication. He has every right to be excited. His performance in the NCAA Tournament vaulted him from a top-five or seven pick to the consensus second pick in every 2011 NBA Mock Draft we can find. The real question is if he will ever play for the Minnesota Timberwolves or will he be traded on draft night like Brandon Roy, O.J. Mayo and Ty Lawson before him.

The Derrick Williams trade rumors have been swirling and most certainly will continue. He's been linked to the Milwaukee Bucks in deal for Andrew Bogut (that the Bucks have denied). The Indiana Pacers have been rumored to have offered Roy Hibbert and their 15th pick for Williams.

And of course, the Phoenix Suns are rumored to still be in the mix with a deal that would send Marcin Gortat to Minnesota.

2011 NBA draft: Chad Ford's NBA Mock Draft 6.0 - ESPN
Analysis: Still hearing the Wolves are hoping to get a great offer for the No. 2 pick. Hearing the best one they have right now is from Phoenix (Marcin Gortat and the No. 13 pick).

If they can't find a trade they like, they'll swallow hard, take Williams and work out the rest this summer via trades. If they get Williams, Michael Beasley could be gone by the time the season starts.

There are denials on this rumor as well:

Phoenix Suns could go big in Thursday's NBA draft
They surely are not pushing to trade center Marcin Gortat to Minnesota, a rumor that got so out of hand that Gortat received a call to assure him it was not happening.

There will be more rumors in the coming days and right up through draft night. Whether Williams plays for Minnesota or some other team, we're looking forward to seeing him in the NBA next season.

For more on Williams and the Arizona Wildcats visit AZ Desert Swarm.