I was on the Pat Williams bandwagon for years thinking he was going to be the next Paul George like two way player. He has all the physical tools, but he lacks the mental to be great. What separates role players, stars and superstars is really just the mental side since everyone on the NBA is extremely talented. He has not improved or expanded his game since a rookie, which is disturbing and now wants a big contract. Time to accept it was a bad swing and move on.
But you don’t need to see the ball go in the hole to have a motor. I get what you’re saying, he’ll never catch a rhythm and his confidence will always be shaky with the ball in his hands, if he’s never given some leeway to mess up. But if him going after rebounds or running the floor is predicated on whether he gets shots up or not, then his mental makeup is not that of a star or starter for that fact. Most successful NBA players at least have energy as an attribute, they don’t need to be pushed.
Yeah I get what you’re saying as well. He looks asleep out there. I just go back to the play in game against Toronto that he dominated defensively. I know he’s got it in there, something is just off right now. I’m not smart enough to know.