Your Morning Dump... Where we should get ready to love Grant Williams
By: bmark86 | June 23, 2019
In the midst of 30 straight minutes of hugs and tears, his grandfather Otto Johnson came to him to deliver the message he had been dreaming of ever since Grant first picked up a ball.
“‘I’m proud of you, boy, you’re going to my team. You’re going to my favorite team, the Boston Celtics, man,’” Williams recalled in his old man voice that he insists sounds just like his grandfather. “‘Just listen to the coach. If you listen to the coach, you’ll do well when you go to Boston. I’m gonna come see you, now.’”
Johnson had been making that promise ever since it became clear his grandson was going to make it to the NBA. Williams’ younger brother became a Patriots fan and his oldest is a Bruins fan. For some reason, his family from Charlotte had always just naturally gravitated toward Boston teams.
“He was just talking about how much he would love it if I end up playing for Boston, because he would always come visit me,” Williams told The Athletic. “The fact that it actually happened and to see his face, that was one of the best things that happened last night.”
The Athletic — ‘I’m proud of you, boy, you’re going to my team’: As Grant Williams joins the Celtics, a grandfather’s dream comes true
Even before we had our assumptions rocked last week when news leaked that
would likely leave, finding the next Al prototype in the draft was on the wish list.
And while it would be nice to have an Al protege learn directly from Big Al in Celtics green, read enough about Grant Williams, and you’ll just be glad that the Cs found someone who has the potential to fill some of the holes Al will likely leave behind in a week and a half.
We’ll of course have to see how it works on the court, and obviously there will be growing pains, but I personally can’t wait to root for this kid. In addition to his draft day exchange with his grandfather making for a feel-good family moment, it seems as though we’re going to love Williams’ work ethic:
Turner calls him a workhorse, fondly remembering when Williams had to fly from Los Angeles to Knoxville for college graduation in May — he earned a Bachelor of Science in supply chain management with a concentration in marketing in just three years — and wanted to squeeze in a 5 a.m. workout before his 8 a.m. flight. Most players will hit him up with a few hours’ warning, but Williams had it planned out well in advance. Williams said he wants to spend his days at the Auerbach Center with three-a-day practice sessions, with an extra session early in the morning.
“I love to be in the gym, so it’s going to be more about people reeling me back in and saying, ‘Hey, relax,’” Williams said. “I want to work on each facet of my game, whether it’s guard skills, conditioning, movement, or things I already do well like vision, passing and the way I score out of the midrange.”
The Celtics will have to reel him back at times throughout the year to avoid stumbling into the rookie wall, but that fervor is one of his greatest strengths.
No offense to the Timelord, but that travel management is second-to-none.
And as it comes to replacing Al, we’ve covered this during previous Dumps this week, but Williams’ strengths have some Al-like qualities:
He particularly sees a role for himself similar to Horford and Green on the short roll, where they can put the ball on the floor and read every passing angle. He can pass to every spot on the perimeter from the low post as well, allowing the Celtics to use him at the five and target switches to put him in the post.
Grant Williams may never sniff
’s ceiling in the NBA, but as Green Teamers reel from losing a fan favorite and a perfect modern small-ball 5, we can take solace in the fact that there’s a 6’7 big brimming with potential and the will to improve arriving on our doorstep. After reading Jared Weiss’ piece this morning, I’m pumped to have Grant Williams on the team.
diventa una trade memorabile 