New Orleans Pelicans: Can Kenrich Williams be a difference maker off the bench?

Kenrich Williams played strong down the stretch last season and could have a huge impact if he’s strong off the New Orleans Pelicans’ bench.

There’s a lot of question marks for this New Orleans Pelicans’ roster heading into the 2019-2020 season. One of the biggest question marks is what kind of performance the team will get out of Alvin Gentry’s bench. How much of an impact Kenrich Williams plays this season could go a long way in answering that question.

Entering his second season in the NBA, Williams came on strong for the Pelicans at the end of last season. Now, if his strides continue into his sophomore campaign, he could really provide a rotational difference-maker.

Going undrafted out of TCU, the forward spent the front half of his rookie season in the G-Leauge, a member of the New York Knicks‘ affiliate Westchester Knicks and Dallas Mavericks‘ affiliate the Texas Legends. He averaged 13.9 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.1 steals in 7 games before signing a 2-yr., minimum deal with the Pelicans.

Standing 6’7″ tall, 210 lbs, and a wingspan equal to his height, the measurables for Williams were unimpressive entering the 2018 NBA Draft, so it makes sense why he’d go undrafted. He wasn’t an overwhelming stand-out in college and without great combine results, his handful of G-League games ended up proving his worth.

Williams played 46 games and was called on to start 29 times for the New Orleans Pelicans in his rookie season, averaging 23.5 minutes per game. His per-game stats were less than outstanding, averaging 6.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and a 44.7% effective field goal rate.

Throughout the season, he never really proved to be a daunting offensive threat, although he could hit the occasional three-point shot. He hit from deep at a rate of 33.3%, which is average and is something to monitor entering next season. If that three-point shot continues to develop, Williams suddenly makes himself a very playable option off the bench.

Down the stretch, however, Williams really started coming into his own. While over the last 15 games, his per-game totals were just 6.9 points and 5.1 rebounds, Williams seemed to be growing in confidence as an NBA player, a confidence that only comes with feeling yourself succeed over and over again at the highest level of the game.

It might not be something outstanding in Williams’ game that will drive his success. It’s going to come down to his ability to do a lot of different things for this Pelicans’ squad.

One early positive sign for the upcoming season was to see Williams play so well in Summer League action this year. Standing out over his 5 games of summer action, he played 28.2 minutes a game, averaging 9.8 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 steals per game, shooting 41% from the field.

Kenrich Williams can make himself valuable if he proves to the coaches he’s one of the best two-way men in the New Orleans Pelicans’ rotation

Entering year two of his NBA career, Williams is going to get more opportunities to prove himself at the NBA level. The New Orleans Pelicans are going to need him to fill in for Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson; E’twaun Moore is only going to provide so much and Nicolo Melli is just a rookie.

What Williams did well his first season was being able to play hard across the board when Gentry got him in the game.

One of the reasons he’s probably finding his way in New Orleans is his fit with Gentry’s coaching philosophy. Williams not only plays hard but is really starting to evolve into a good defender in this league. Albeit in limited opportunities, but he had a 0.9 defensive win share and 0.9 defensive box plus/minus; those numbers aren’t outstanding, but for someone undrafted entering the league, he’s really hanging in there against quality opponents.

Now, with one of the finest defensive minds in the league on staff, Jeff Bzdelik, he’ll have the opportunity to be in town when the system gets installed.

Much like he did with the design for the impressive Houston Rockets’ defense over the last three seasons, Bzdelik knows how to maximize his system to get the best out of his players. Kenrich Williams can get more minutes if he buys into the philosophy early in training camp.

If you spend any time watching Williams, you’ll notice how much focus he puts into his game, it’s really the execution that sometimes leaves him burned. Aside from knowing the system even better, quickening his feet is going to be one of the fastest ways to make strides on the defensive end. He doesn’t have the qualities to be a shot-blocker, but to become someone who can stop the ball is key for an undersized player.

The New Orleans Pelicans are going to have to find out what kind of bench they have when training camp starts next week. If this team envisions itself in the playoffs, they’re going to need production from that unit. Williams being a positive player for this squad could be a difference in the win-loss column that puts them in the mix at the end of the season.

Getting any sort of production from younger guys off the bench would be a huge positive entering the first year with his reconstructed roster. Williams is entering his second year with the team, so his comfort with Alvin Gentry, the city, and the team makes him an early candidate to be one of the most impressive young guys for that unit.