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PostPosted: Mon Aug 14, 2017 3:23 am 
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MINNEAPOLIS -- Even just 16 games into the new season, one thing had become abundantly clear in Minnesota: Derrick Williams wasnt fitting in with the Timberwolves. Coach Rick Adelman was playing him only as a matter of last resort despite a glaring need for help off the bench, and Williams was growing increasingly frustrated with the sporadic minutes. With all that in mind, new Wolves President Flip Saunders swallowed hard and made the decision to part with the former No. 2 overall draft pick, sending him to Sacramento for defensive specialist Luc Mbah Moute. "We need to do something where coach can get some trust into his bench and play those guys more," Saunders said after the deal was completed on Tuesday. "Coach is going to play guys that he feels he trusts that can go out there and play for him and help him win." Williams was the highest draft pick in franchise history when the Wolves grabbed him in 2011. But his style of play didnt mesh with Adelmans system, he played the same position as the teams best player and the impasse reached a breaking point early this season. Williams missed one game because of back spasms and did not play in four other games as Adelman elected to go with Robbie Hummel and Dante Cunningham with the second unit instead. Adelman wanted to see more energy from Williams on both ends of court. But Williams often said that he had difficulty getting into the flow of the game when he only played in fits and starts. He bounced between small forward and power forward in two-plus years with the Wolves, averaging 10.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. And so the Wolves cut ties with a 22-year-old whose value on the market had plunged right along with his playing time. "I just didnt foresee Derrick being able to play much," Saunders said. "And if a guys not playing, usually your value is not going to go up. So when weve got someone we thought was going to fit what we were looking for, we just thought it was right." The Kings are hoping Williams can bring some offensive punch to a team that could use some more of it in the frontcourt alongside DeMarcus Cousins. The Kings have been searching for an answer at power forward after Carl Landry went out with a torn hip flexor in the preseason. Theyve used Jason Thompson and Patrick Patterson to varying degrees of success and see Williams as a player who may just need a change of scenery to realize his potential. "Were excited to acquire a player with Derricks skillset," Kings GM Pete DAlessandro said in a statement issued by the team. "He will add size, length and serve as a scoring threat in our frontcourt. We also want to thank Luc for his contributions during the short time he was a King. We wish him the best." Williams is more comfortable playing the power forward, which he showed when filling in for the injured Kevin Love last season. But with Love back healthy this year, and Cunningham earning Adelmans trust as a veteran off the bench, there was little room for the 22-year-old. Williams played less than 15 minutes per game this season, much of it in garbage time during blowouts. "Derricks still young and still has that potential," Saunders said. "Unfortunately, many times for that potential to be able to marinate and develop, sometimes they have to get extended minutes." The move will help the Wolves balance their roster a little bit, relieving a glut at power forward while addressing a weakness at small forward. The 6-foot-8 Mbah a Moute played with Love in college at UCLA and brings some toughness and defensive presence that the Wolves are sorely lacking. With Chase Budinger still not close to playing while he recovers from knee surgery, the Wolves needed another body to help take some of the pressure off of Corey Brewer as the teams primary perimeter defender. Adelman has told others in the organization that he likes Mbah a Moutes game, an important endorsement if the Wolves were going to cut ties with Williams. Mbah a Moutes size will help the Wolves better matchup with some of the toughest covers in the West, including Oklahoma Citys Kevin Durant, the Clippers Blake Griffin and Dirk Nowitzki from Dallas. Aside from Ricky Rubio, the fifth overall pick in 2009, the Wolves have gotten next to nothing from former President David Kahns drafts. Jonny Flynn (sixth overall in 2009), Wes Johnson (fourth overall in 2010) and now Williams are all gone. While Flynn is out of the league and Johnson has struggled to find carve a niche, Saunders believes Williams isnt a bust, just a player in need of a better fit. "I believe Rick was just forced into a situation where youre playing a guy whos playing like MVP of the league, which he has been," Saunders said of Love, "and you dont see that really changing." 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Morneau hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning and helped the Colorado Rockies turn the third triple play in team history as they beat the San Diego Padres 8-6 on Sunday.Manchester United are enjoying an unprecedented period of dominance over rivals Liverpool in the league. Jose Mourinho will face Liverpool for the first time as Manchester United boss when they travel to Anfield for Mondays Sky Live fixture - aiming to extend a remarkable run of results.Under Brendan Rodgers, Liverpool recorded home and away wins over United in 2013/14 - but they are Liverpools only two victories in this fixture over the past 10 league meetings. But the dominance doesnt end there. Liverpool have just six league wins over United since April 2004. Nineteen of the past 27 league meetings have been won by the Manchester side, including a 1-0 win at Anfield in January this year.Its a trend which has developed since the 1980s, as the graph below shows. Previously, the teams were evenly matched in head-to-head fixtures. Average points won in Liverpool aand Manchester United head-to-heads Historically, United have the edge, too, with 67 league wins to Liverpools 55 since the teams first met in 1895.ddddddddddddThe Reds of Manchester have also scored more goals against their rivals, netting 233 goals compared to Liverpools 216 in these games.However, United failed to beat Liverpool home or away in March this year when the two sides clashed in the Europa League, with Liverpool winning 2-0 at Anfield and United, under Louis van Gaal, only managing a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.The highest-scoring game between the teams came on March 25, 1908, when a Bill McPherson hat-trick and a brace apiece for Joe Hewitt and Bobby Robinson secured Liverpool a 7-4 win at Anfield.Liverpool also won 7-1 on October 12, 1895, when the sides were competing in the second tier of English football. Watch Liverpool v Manchester United live on Sky Sports 1 HD on Monday from 7pm. Also See: VOTE: Liverpool-Man Utd top 50 Red Monday Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '


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