Its pick 27.
Wildly best case: He becomes a cornerstone defensive big in the mold of De'Andre, Cappella.
Worst Case: Third big off the bench good for a couple dunks, a block and six fouls.
Most likely scenario: Decent bench rotation player, good for a solid 15 minutes a night.
If you expect anything different out of a 27 pick, I don't know what else to tell you. He adds to the length of the team, and if can use that length and athleticism effectively for 15 to 20 minutes a night, this is a home run. And if he never gets it, he doesn't cost much and he'll be trade filler or not re-signed at the end of his rookie deal.
Your worst case scenario is a lot closer to the median case scenario. The worst case is he's a Fab Melo-esque flameout who has the physical skills but not the mentality or work ethic to ever become a competent player.
Fab had NO skills other than height. He was essentially a poor man's Fred Munster.
The Fab Melo comparison is about as lazy as Fab Melo was.
RIP though, I mean no disrespect, but can we stop comparing Melo to Williams? Maybe they have similar laziness/ineptitude for professionalism/work ethics, but Williams was gifted with 7'6 wingspan, defensive instincts, and the ability to grab a rebound mid air. He already runs the floor faster than Melo could ever dream of on the court.
Oh, to top it off the 40 inch vertical. Melo averaged 4.9 PPG and 3.8 RPG in his senior in Syracuse. Williams is already double that, not to mention Melo couldn't even sniff more than 7 RPG in D-League. That is just embarrassing.
Honestly can't think of a worse comparison.I was a big Melo cheerleader too.I wanted the guy to succeed. It was just obvious the guy had zero feel for the game, was clumsy and uncoordinated as any player you'll find in the NBA and wasn't committed to getting better. Williams is an elite athlete who has some professionalism questions.
The comparison that people are making is that both were late picks. There is a reason that Williams was picked 27. The expectations people are putting on this guy are not realistic. Without looking at the data, there is a bigger chance that he’s a flop than a serviceable player. So excuse me for not getting terribly excited about him.
I get your point. The honest side of me knows this possibility.
This is the difference between "hopeful" and "expecting," even though they are synonyms.
I'm hopeful that Williams can make good on his athleticism and talent in the perfect situation.
I'm expecting that a player of his athleticism is at least able to log a few minutes here and there over an 8 year career, at least part of which will be in Boston.
I'm hopeful that Williams can give us the athletic rim runner we've lacked.
I'm not expecting he will be anything more than Jordan Mickey.
I'm hopeful that Williams will develop his competitiveness in the Celtics culture, and get a chip on his shoulder from his draft position.
I'm not expecting he'll ever play a meaningful playoff minute.
I'm hopeful he can be part of the Brown-Tatum core moving forward.
I'm not expecting anything from him.