Did Marcus Willliams deserve more minutes under Lawrence Frank in Jersey? We'll find out

September 10, 1:27 PMGolden State Warriors ExaminerMatt Steinmetz

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Lawrence Frank and Marcus Williams ... you get the picture 

I’ve been asked a few times already about point guard Marcus Williams. Fans want to know what he’s like, how good he is and if he’ll be able to help the Warriors.

One of the most compelling parts of basketball, for me at least, is to watch a player who finally gets an opportunity to play, and then to see what he does with it.

Take Williams, for example. It's put-up or shut-up time, not that he's been yakking, just as a figure of speech.

Williams has been sitting in New Jersey for the past couple of seasons, struggling to get off the bench for coach Lawrence Frank.

When Williams did play he was tentative and said to be looking over his shoulder at the coach. There also was the built-in excuse that Williams’ uptempo style didn’t fit with Frank’s deliberate approach.

Supposedly Williams got into Frank’s doghouse _ a tough place to find your way out of _ and then got out of shape. Williams has hinted that it’s tough to stay in shape when you’re not getting minutes.

For two years, Williams has been an unwrapped gift, if you will, and now it's Christmas.

Williams has gotten everything he could have wished for and more. He’s playing in the uptempo-est of uptempo offenses, has the inside track on being a starter and is now playing for a coach (Don Nelson) known for giving players unprecedented freedom.

How does Williams respond? Will he show that he can be an NBA starter? Can he defend well enough on a consistent basis? Will he get into good enough shape to play 30-some minutes per game?

Does he have leadership skills? How about intangibles? We’ll know about all that stuff.

We’ll also know whether Williams or Frank was the problem in Jersey.

And it’s all going to be fascinating to watch.