Utah Jazz: Williams steps into mentor role for Maynor

Looking back at his rookie year, Deron Williams credits former Utah Jazz point guard Milt Palacio for being a mentor of sorts.

Consider that the most important assist of Palacio's short stay in Utah.

"He helped me a lot," Williams recalled.

Four years later, Williams is the established NBA veteran and he's passing it forward. So far in his rookie year, Eric Maynor — who figures to see his first taste of NBA action during the Jazz's preseason-opener tonight against Denver — credits the team's current starting point guard for mentoring him.

"He's a great guy, man," the Virginia Commonwealth University product said of Williams. "You've got some guys in this league that would think about their position and wouldn't try to help guys that come in, but he's been the total opposite."

Williams teaches him the tricks, dishes out gold-medal advice from one of the league's brightest point guard stars, and often wows him with his play.

Williams does it willingly, too.

Considering his previous stellar play and the fact he's in the first year of a contract potentially worth about $70 million, Williams is pretty certain he'll be keeping his starter's job for the near future. That, however, does not stop him from jokingly asking reporters if he should be scared of losing his spot to the rookie.

Kidding aside, Williams doesn't mind helping out the new kid on the bench... He admits it will make his job easier if his backup plays well. Don't take that to mean he's giving the rookie the edge in the battle to be the first point guard off the bench. Ronnie Price has what Williams calls "the upper hand" right now.

But he wants to help Maynor reach his exciting pro potential.

"I always like to see guys succeed, and he's a part of this team," Williams said. "Hopefully, he can learn a lot from me and be a valuable backup. ... You can see that Eric can be a special player."

Maynor gave glimpses of that during his stellar career at VCU, where he averaged 22.4 points and 6.2 assists as a senior en route to being named Colonial Athletic Association player of the year for a second consecutive season.

The Jazz snatched him up 20th overall and made him the first VCU player to ever get drafted in the first round because they liked his playmaking skill set. The franchise that places a premium on pure point guards just couldn't resist taking a shot on a guy they compliment for helping others take good shots.