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Derrick Williams has been putting in impressive performances recently for the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are trying to find players they can build with the future. Williams appears to be one of them.

In Sunday’s 100-99 Minnesota loss to Golden State Warriors, Williams scored 23 points on excellent 9-of-15 shooting from the floor, while adding 12 rebounds. In the previous game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, he was 3 of 14 and wound up with nine points. Prior to that game, he was 7 of 12 against the Philadelphia 76ers for 17 points and eight boards.

Williams has improved from last season. His minutes per game are almost the same. But last season, he was at 8.8 points. He has shown signs of excellence in other games, recently netting 24 points, along with 16 rebounds, a season high.

Williams has been stuck around 42 percent in field goal shooting, and that’s a part of his game that could stand some work.

The Timberwolves aren’t going to the playoffs this season, and will continue to look at Williams and other younger talent to see how they can lift the franchise into NBA title contention in the future. Williams performance against Golden State, a team that appears ahead to the NBA West playoffs, shows that the Timberwolves have some talent to build on. Williams has all the tools to become a solid NBA player. He’s made steady progression this season, and has put up some good numbers. It’s only a matter of time.