Theis playing good ball

[Hoopvortex]

Team executive on Williams’ development: “We knew he was a project when we drafted him, but a worthy one. Sometimes a project gets tossed early, but Robert is a guy we’ll go the distance with. Word of warning: Don’t put too much on this kid too early. We signed a lot of bigs for a reason.”

It's clear that his time has come to prove himself. He'll get a lot of minutes.

I think that people have slept on Theis and Ojeleye. Both of them will have the opportunity to be in the regular rotation, and both have useful talents to bring to it.

I don't read that quote as expecting him to get a lot of minutes.  Rather I read it just the opposite.  They like GWill, have not given up on GWill, but I don't think they expect all that much from him this season (thus the "signed a lot of bigs" comment).

As for GWill, I agree, there is a lot to like.  He may be something really good eventually but I don't expect much from him this season.  I think Kanter, Theis, Ojeleye, and Poirier will all play ahead of him.  Would love to be wrong on that.  It would be great if GWill took a leap and become a regular contributor.

I’m 99% sure that quote is about Robert Williams, not Grant Williams.

That said, I agree with your interpretation other than you’ve got the wrong player.

The quotation says, "...don't put too much on this kid too early" - it's not possible to parse that to mean "before Christmas" or "before the All-Star break" or "until 20/21" - but it's apparent from the rest of the quotation that they're going to "go the distance" with him, meaning that they're going to give him court time in order to develop him.

The question is when.

They might want specific things from him that need a lot of on-court reps, as in: the G-League, especially before Christmas. But there's no substitute for practicing with the team, going over video and scouting reports, taking on little challenges, and then bigger challenges like guarding front-line players.

Now that's true for everyone to some extent; but if he's going to get to be as good as he looks like he is, he's got to get on the court in the Big Show, not in Maine.

Vermont Green and you are right to emphasize that last word of caution; but let's not miss the other part: they believe in him, they'll go the distance with him.

Maybe you had the same reaction that I did in Summer League: Robert has done some terrific work on his body; and he's got real potential as a passer.  Those might not be the first things that fans are looking for, but they tell me: 1) that he's a worker; and 2) that he's responding to coaching.

Yes, he'll need to diversify his offense and find some other ways to score. And if he really can pass out of the roll the way it looks like he can, he'll start to carve out a niche.

Now I'm not sure that there really is any disagreement here about what we can expect from the Timelord this season. I'm predicting low rotation minutes (12-16) after the All-Star break.  How's that sound to you?

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

Team executive on Williams’ development: “We knew he was a project when we drafted him, but a worthy one. Sometimes a project gets tossed early, but Robert is a guy we’ll go the distance with. Word of warning: Don’t put too much on this kid too early. We signed a lot of bigs for a reason.”

It's clear that his time has come to prove himself. He'll get a lot of minutes.

I think that people have slept on Theis and Ojeleye. Both of them will have the opportunity to be in the regular rotation, and both have useful talents to bring to it.

I don't read that quote as expecting him to get a lot of minutes.  Rather I read it just the opposite.  They like GWill, have not given up on GWill, but I don't think they expect all that much from him this season (thus the "signed a lot of bigs" comment).

As for GWill, I agree, there is a lot to like.  He may be something really good eventually but I don't expect much from him this season.  I think Kanter, Theis, Ojeleye, and Poirier will all play ahead of him.  Would love to be wrong on that.  It would be great if GWill took a leap and become a regular contributor.

I’m 99% sure that quote is about Robert Williams, not Grant Williams.

That said, I agree with your interpretation other than you’ve got the wrong player.

The quotation says, "...don't put too much on this kid too early" - it's not possible to parse that to mean "before Christmas" or "before the All-Star break" or "until 20/21" - but it's apparent from the rest of the quotation that they're going to "go the distance" with him, meaning that they're going to give him court time in order to develop him.

The question is when.

They might want specific things from him that need a lot of on-court reps, as in: the G-League, especially before Christmas. But there's no substitute for practicing with the team, going over video and scouting reports, taking on little challenges, and then bigger challenges like guarding front-line players.

Now that's true for everyone to some extent; but if he's going to get to be as good as he looks like he is, he's got to get on the court in the Big Show, not in Maine.

Vermont Green and you are right to emphasize that last word of caution; but let's not miss the other part: they believe in him, they'll go the distance with him.

Maybe you had the same reaction that I did in Summer League: Robert has done some terrific work on his body; and he's got real potential as a passer.  Those might not be the first things that fans are looking for, but they tell me: 1) that he's a worker; and 2) that he's responding to coaching.

Yes, he'll need to diversify his offense and find some other ways to score. And if he really can pass out of the roll the way it looks like he can, he'll start to carve out a niche.

Now I'm not sure that there really is any disagreement here about what we can expect from the Timelord this season. I'm predicting low rotation minutes (12-16) after the All-Star break.  How's that sound to you?

To me, go the distance means more seasons to develop and this season won't cause them to give up on him no matter how it goes. I don't see that they are going to force him minutes, because he added the part about having so many bigs for a reason. Even if he doesn't get good minutes this season, they think he will be good enough in the future to earn some. Bigs usually take a few seasons to get it together outside of the best talents (Shaq, Howard, etc).

[Vermont Green]

Team executive on Williams’ development: “We knew he was a project when we drafted him, but a worthy one. Sometimes a project gets tossed early, but Robert is a guy we’ll go the distance with. Word of warning: Don’t put too much on this kid too early. We signed a lot of bigs for a reason.”

It's clear that his time has come to prove himself. He'll get a lot of minutes.

I think that people have slept on Theis and Ojeleye. Both of them will have the opportunity to be in the regular rotation, and both have useful talents to bring to it.

I don't read that quote as expecting him to get a lot of minutes.  Rather I read it just the opposite.  They like GWill, have not given up on GWill, but I don't think they expect all that much from him this season (thus the "signed a lot of bigs" comment).

As for GWill, I agree, there is a lot to like.  He may be something really good eventually but I don't expect much from him this season.  I think Kanter, Theis, Ojeleye, and Poirier will all play ahead of him.  Would love to be wrong on that.  It would be great if GWill took a leap and become a regular contributor.

I’m 99% sure that quote is about Robert Williams, not Grant Williams.

That said, I agree with your interpretation other than you’ve got the wrong player.

Sorry for the confusion caused by my careless typing.  Yes, I meant Robert Williams and was responding to the quote about Robert Williams.

[Vermont Green]

Team executive on Williams’ development: “We knew he was a project when we drafted him, but a worthy one. Sometimes a project gets tossed early, but Robert is a guy we’ll go the distance with. Word of warning: Don’t put too much on this kid too early. We signed a lot of bigs for a reason.”

It's clear that his time has come to prove himself. He'll get a lot of minutes.

I think that people have slept on Theis and Ojeleye. Both of them will have the opportunity to be in the regular rotation, and both have useful talents to bring to it.

I don't read that quote as expecting him to get a lot of minutes.  Rather I read it just the opposite.  They like GWill, have not given up on GWill, but I don't think they expect all that much from him this season (thus the "signed a lot of bigs" comment).

I'm sure you mean RWill...

"a lot of minutes" - relative term. 

Here's the thing: they need him to advance because there's a big gaping hole where a rim-protector should be. That's why he'll get a lot of minutes. I'm going out on a limb a bit, but I'm predicting rotation minutes, like 12-16, but not until after the all-star break.

That's not even a big jump from last year, as he played 8.8 per in 32 games.

Once he comes online, they can play all sorts of two-big lineups because he can cover space on the floor as well as block shots.

You're not wrong to read that quotation as saying it'll take time; but it's also clear in there that they believe in his future. If Horford were still here it might be different, but it's a combination of his potential and the team's need. That means that he'll be on the court plenty.

Yes, I meant Robert Williams,  Sorry for the confusion.