The Boston Celtics failed to retain one of their key pieces by letting Grant Williams go.
Williams had been one of the first guys off the bench since he arrived in Boston, excelling with his defense and becoming a reliable three-point shooter over the past couple of years.
And now that he’s no longer in town, he’s reportedly made it a priority to let the Celtics know what they lost by doing one thing and one thing only, and that’s locking up Jayson Tatum.
According to a report by Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (via NBA Central), Grant told Tatum that he couldn’t go left, so he’ll force him that way and will be physical with him, predicting that Tatum will end up crying to the referees.
Grant Williams plans to lock up Jayson Tatum next season
“You can’t go left. And I’m gonna be physical with you and you’ll go cry to the referees.” 😂😂😂
(Via @AdamHimmelsbach ) pic.twitter.com/4VKXLvkXdV
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) July 15, 2023
Needless to say, this is all in great spirits, as Williams and Tatum obviously have a good relationship from their days together.
But all jokes aside, Williams is actually a more than capable defender, and he does know Tatum’s few weaknesses and flaws better than most people in the league after watching him work out every day and develop into the player he’s become nowadays.
The Celtics could’ve afforded to keep Williams, but they decided to go in a different direction.
And while he’s obviously no Jayson Tatum or a building block of their project, he’s the kind of versatile 3-and-D kind of guy and locker room leader that a young team like that could miss, especially when things get tough in the playoffs.
NEXT:
Paul Pierce Isn’t Worried About Celtics’ Leadership Next Season
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