Grant Williams defends Jayson Tatum’s stint with the Boston Celtics and delivers a forceful message.
Following his Dallas Mavericks trade deadline acquisition by the Charlotte Hornets, a story emerged claiming that Grant Williams was a bothersome presence in the DFW locker room and throughout his first four years as a Boston Celtic.
Jayson Tatum disagreed, saying Williams was a fantastic teammate and defended him. And Williams found resonance in it.
Williams responded to Tatum’s defense of him by saying, “Yeah, that meant the world” (h/t Charlotte Observer). To be honest, I never even asked him. it’s why it was even more awesome, and I had to give him my sincere gratitude because it will always be my puppy. And so are all those guys from Boston. Over my career, I have had more conversations with those guys than most. All of those guys—Derrick White, Payton Prichard, Sam Hauser, and Al Horford—have been extremely influential in my career and during my time in Boston.”
According to Mike Gorman, Grant Williams irritated him in the Boston Celtics locker room.
There have been rumors from Williams’ time with the Mavs, including one about him poking the bear during a scrimmage and for Luka Doncic to go all in on him. However, Mike Gorman was the one who had Tatum stand up for the Hornets lineup by saying he was “annoying to everybody.”
Everyone found him to be obnoxious. Regarding Williams, Gorman remarked, “I think at first everyone thought he was kind of a wise-ass, but he’s kind of cute and he’s kind of funny” (h/t Boston.com). After then, it simply became boring. Obviously, things in Dallas become stale.He had some problems there, but not enough for teams to say, “Well OK, but despite that, we’re going to keep him here because he’s a great player,” if he doesn’t resolve them. He isn’t.
“He is not the main cast member. The players that rank eighth, ninth, or tenth on your roster are highly interchangeable. He’s not a good guy in the locker room. Being a horrible locker room person will make you rank eighth or ninth, but you won’t be in that position for very long because you won’t be playing for the team.
Tatum’s defense isn’t shocking, but Gorman’s assault is. The Cs have long been known for their unity and friendship, even in the face of heartbreaking early playoff losses. Tatum seems to follow the adage “once a Celtic, always a Celtic” as well. In terms of rebuking criticism directed towards his former comrade, anyway.