NBA Draft 2018 Prospect Watch: Robert Williams

What the experts say

ESPN (Jonathan Givony): 13th

The Ringer (Kevin O’Connor, Jonathan Tjarks, Danny Chau): 12th

Sporting News (Chris Stone): 15th

The Athletic (Sam Vecenie): 17th

The Stepien (Cole Zwicker): 18th

The Step Back (Brandon Kleen): 13th

Quotes:

While he has him currently projected where the Bucks are picking as of his most recent mock draft, The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie writes that Williams can vault himself into the lottery, provided he improves on aspects of the role he’ll likely play in once he reaches the NBA:

"“Williams chose to return to school after being a potential top-10 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. He doesn’t fall that far here and could end up going a bit higher than this. He’s an athletic freak with a 7-5 wingspan who blocks shots with pogo-stick leaping ability and moves well all over the court. But in today’s NBA, centers need to bring motor every night and do the little things every time down the floor. Williams is improving there but still doesn’t set great screens or play hard every half. Do that, and this spot would be way too low for him.”"

Along those same lines, Jackson Hoy of The Stepien concludes that Williams will assuredly be a functional rotation piece for any NBA team at the very least, but still has to touch up those areas of his game in order to flourish as a full fledged, starting level center:

"“Williams is one of the best run-and-jump athletes in this draft, and when combined with his imposing size, he profiles as an excellent rim-runner and shot-blocker in the NBA. Throw in his flashes of face-up ability, blossoming short-roll game, and switch-ability on defense, and Williams is a really enticing prospect. However, his underwhelming girth, questionable motor, and lack of improvement in the skilled parts of his game make it hard to fully commit to him as a lottery pick. He should be a useful situational big in the NBA, but Williams has not made the necessary strides this season to earn a “future starter” badge. That said, if he gets stronger and is consistently dialed in, he has all the tools to be a starting-caliber big man.”"