Lakers sign Derrick Williams to 10-day contract

The former Arizona standout is joining Luke Walton in L.A.

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed former Arizona Wildcats standout Derrick Williams to a 10-day contract, the team announced Friday afternoon.

Williams had been playing for the Tianjin Gold Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association, averaging 20.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game in 15 contests.

This will be Williams’ seventh season in the NBA. The former No. 2 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft has played in 426 games with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Sacramento Kings, New York Knicks, Miami Heat, and Cleveland Cavaliers.

Williams, 26, is averaging 8.9 points and 4.0 rebounds throughout his career, which has been considered a disappointment given how highly-regarded he was coming out of college.

As a sophomore at Arizona, Williams averaged 19.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, with an incredible shooting line of .595/.568/.746.

That led him to be the Pac-10 Player of the Year, a consensus second-team All-American, and the No. 2 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.

Williams will join a Lakers team whose coaching staff features several former Wildcats including head coach Luke Walton, and assistants Jud Buechler and Miles Simon.

The young Lakers are 29-35 this season, and have been one of the league’s hottest teams since the All-Star break.

The signing also represents a homecoming from Williams who hails from La Mirada, California.

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