Some very smart posters here, like Salt and Roy, seem very bearish on Williams. Don't be fooled, I've scouted pretty well over the past decade to 12 years when I bother to watch, and I think Williams is a great pick, and attones for passing on DeAndre Jordan.
For reference, I was on record for Tatum last year, was perhaps the most vocal Kyrie trade supporter (i posted videos of IT and Kyrie showing how Kyrie was simply better, stats be [dang]ed) and after we got Morris I immediately researched and stated we won that trade.
So I feel my opinion has been overall pretty solid the past year, and I love this pick. This is not like selecting Fab Melo or Deyonta Davis, it's like picking DeAndre Jordan or Willie Caulie-Stein.
Not sure the motor criticisms are fair. His drb% is on par with the tops in the country, and much higher than JJJ and he has a very high block % as well.
It’s not like picking Willie Cauley-Stein. WCS is not and will never be a perfect player, but he took a step forward in college every year. Williams was the same player this year as he was last year. He got suspended for 3 games at the beginning of the season for violating team rules (presumably pot). His on-court effort issues are widely agreed upon.
I get the pick. I think it was the correct one. I just think people are way too excited about him and are setting themselves up for disappointment. It’s a lot easier for me to see him never making it into the Celtics rotation than it is for me to see him as a foundational piece, or even really a useful on that leaves after his rookie deal. I hope he reaches his considerable ceiling, or even gets 80% of the way there. That would make the Celtics future even more bright than it already is. I don’t see it happening, but I’d love to be wrong.
Just curious if you did indeed watch A&M games at all, or just basing this on what you've seen on highlights/draft videos?
There was absolutely no floor spacing. There were a lot of injuries.
Robert Williams fell supposedly due to his motor, and knee issues, but from what I've seen. He is a threat for a lob every time.
I watched a few. I understand that A&M misused him terribly, and Billy Gillespie is on my list of worst college coaches. But I also saw him get lit up by Mo Wagner in the tournament, both inside and out. That’s problematic if he’s going to have trouble with stretch bigs.
Again, he has talent. I’m not questioning it. So did Larry Sanders.
The Celtics didn’t work him out. I believe the last two players they didn’t work out and selected in the first round were also high-ceiling, lottery-projected players who fell — James Young and Gerald Green.
He skipped the draft combine, which is a bit odd for a player who was being talked about as on the fringe of the lottery. The teams who worked him out and interviewed him all decided they liked someone more at that spot. There’s a lot of information out there that says he most likely won’t pan out, so I’m just not going to get overly excited about him in advance, and save my exuberance if he does make it.
You’re of course all free to call him the second-coming of Bill Russell or Robert Parish. It’s fun to be excited — I’m just not.