Weekly Word: Trevion Williams and the NBA, NIL (again) and more

While former teammate Jaden Ivey's got the NBA world wrapped around his finger — considered one of the elite prospects in this year's draft — Trevion Williams is going to have to travel the path of greater resistance to make it at the highest level of his sport.

But the outgoing Purdue senior's invitation to the the league's Draft Combine in his native Chicago validated Williams as a player NBA kingmakers want to give a legitimate chance to.

It's an enormous opportunity for someone who's probably a better player than he is a prospect. There are boxes he's not going to check at first glance and questions that can't be answered until he's given a chance to. That's the good news for Williams, that those things aren't canceling him as a priority evaluation for scouts and decision-makers.

Make no mistake here: The Combine gives Williams a chance to solidify himself as a draftable player, but he may be hard pressed to make any sort of meteoric rise. NBA people already know he has giant hands and that he's not going to leap over tall buildings in a single bound and should know that the pickup-game nature of the scrimmages in Chicago likely won't highlight the strengths of a big man like Williams, or most any big man for that matter.