Grant Williams(merged threads)

[Sophomore]

I still have hope for Romeo, and it's hard not to love Grant. I hope he's PJ Tucker II.

But from a basketball perspective I still wish we'd drafted Clarke and Thybulle - or even better, packaged the picks to trade up for P.J. Washington.

[PhoSita]

I think there's still a very good chance that Grant Williams turns into a more valuable player long term than Thybulle or Clarke.


Clarke to me seems like he's more of a Brandan Wright / Taj Gibson type than a future starter.

Thybulle is Andre Roberson redux.


We know Grant can stay in front of anybody and battle for boards inside.  He's shown the ability to bully smaller players when the defense puts a guard on him.

As long as Grant can hit open threes consistently, he has the chance to be a very valuable, perhaps even a solid full time starter.


Remember -- Grant is significantly younger than Clarke and a fair bit younger than Thybulle.

[jambr380]

I know Grant is strong and moves his feet well. He also has a solid understanding of how to play defense and what his role is on offense; but, is there any way for him to work on his sheer athleticism? He is already so short when he is out there among other PFs/Cs; it would be great if he could somehow develop more bounce - both on rebounding and trying to get his shot off.

I like Grant and think he has a future as a rotation piece in this league. I also think he has the ability to increase his shooting percentage from 3, but for him to raise his ceiling, he really needs to develop some NBA level athleticism if he is going to play as a big.

[IDreamCeltics]

I know Grant is strong and moves his feet well. He also has a solid understanding of how to play defense and what his role is on offense; but, is there any way for him to work on his sheer athleticism? He is already so short when he is out there among other PFs/Cs; it would be great if he could somehow develop more bounce - both on rebounding and trying to get his shot off.

I like Grant and think he has a future as a rotation piece in this league. I also think he has the ability to increase his shooting percentage from 3, but for him to raise his ceiling, he really needs to develop some NBA level athleticism if he is going to play as a big.

The answer is sadlly no.  His athleticism most likely is what it is at this point.

[wiley]

 let's edit the thread title to:  we've been talking about Grant Williams' shooting for 11 pages.. 

[Ogaju]

let's edit the thread title to:  we've been talking about Grant Williams' shooting for 11 pages.. 

We are just getting started...

[libermaniac]

let's edit the thread title to:  we've been talking about Grant Williams' shooting for 11 pages.. 

We are just getting started...

Do I get any credit for starting an 11 page and counting thread?  Toss a guy a TP or something? 
Look at his trend for 3 point shooting:

Oct - 0%
Nov - 0%
Dec - 28.8%
Jan - 47.4%

At this pace, he'll be shooting 150% in April.  Then, we HAVE to be talking about his shooting. 

[Ogaju]

let's edit the thread title to:  we've been talking about Grant Williams' shooting for 11 pages.. 

We are just getting started...

Do I get any credit for starting an 11 page and counting thread?  Toss a guy a TP or something? 
Look at his trend for 3 point shooting:

Oct - 0%
Nov - 0%
Dec - 28.8%
Jan - 47.4%

At this pace, he'll be shooting 150% in April.  Then, we HAVE to be talking about his shooting. 

Threads for TPs? Is that a quid pro quo?

[Tr1boy]

I know Grant is strong and moves his feet well. He also has a solid understanding of how to play defense and what his role is on offense; but, is there any way for him to work on his sheer athleticism? He is already so short when he is out there among other PFs/Cs; it would be great if he could somehow develop more bounce - both on rebounding and trying to get his shot off.

I like Grant and think he has a future as a rotation piece in this league. I also think he has the ability to increase his shooting percentage from 3, but for him to raise his ceiling, he really needs to develop some NBA level athleticism if he is going to play as a big.

You do realise that Draymond Green is not "bouncy" either

Grant Williams playing C is not going to work most of the times

If he is paired with a Robert Williams, Clint Capela rim protector... that is ideal when he is on the court

[Hoopvortex]

I know Grant is strong and moves his feet well. He also has a solid understanding of how to play defense and what his role is on offense; but, is there any way for him to work on his sheer athleticism?

Sure, of course. He needs to lose some of that fat, for a start. He's got a lot of capacity for improvement with his hip joint muscles, too - he just needs to put in the time.

We can be confident about his work ethic; probably he'll show up to training camp 2020 looking (and especially moving) noticeably differently.

It's not likely that he'll ever be known for his first step or his shot-blocking, but there's more than one way to get to the rim or to protect the rim on the other end. Then, too, as much as athleticism, anticipation is a key element in playing good team ball, and that's already one of Grant's strengths; again, in Year 2 he'll likely take a step up in that area, after a season plus playoffs of rotation minutes.

[Hoopvortex]

I still have hope for Romeo

Not exactly a ringing endorsement.

and it's hard not to love Grant. I hope he's PJ Tucker II.

His upside is higher than Tucker's because of his exceptional feel for the game and ability to move the ball.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

I know Grant is strong and moves his feet well. He also has a solid understanding of how to play defense and what his role is on offense; but, is there any way for him to work on his sheer athleticism?

Sure, of course. He needs to lose some of that fat, for a start. He's got a lot of capacity for improvement with his hip joint muscles, too - he just needs to put in the time.

We can be confident about his work ethic; probably he'll show up to training camp 2020 looking (and especially moving) noticeably differently.

It's not likely that he'll ever be known for his first step or his shot-blocking, but there's more than one way to get to the rim or to protect the rim on the other end. Then, too, as much as athleticism, anticipation is a key element in playing good team ball, and that's already one of Grant's strengths; again, in Year 2 he'll likely take a step up in that area, after a season plus playoffs of rotation minutes.

Lolz. Grant Williams has a 5.4% body fat. He can't lose any weight.

I think his lateral movement is pretty good. I think his hips are good for a 240 big man with 5.4% body fat. His bench was the most at the combine. Meanwhile, his lane agility time beat players like Kevin Huerter, Aaron Holliday, Zhaire Smith, Landry Shamet, Josh Hart, Dwyane Bacon, Svi, TJ McConnell, Delon Wright, Elfrid Payton, etc. In other words, his hip flexibility and agility is pretty good.

[Atzar]

I still have hope for Romeo

Not exactly a ringing endorsement.

In fairness to Romeo, he's in a difficult situation.  He got drafted and didn't really have an offseason because of an injury, and now he's spent the entire year recovering from other injuries and trying to find his role with two different sets of teammates as he gets shuttled back and forth.  It has to be a whirlwind for him.  And this is on top of the fact that he was always regarded as a bit of a long-term project even when we drafted him. 

I think he could really use some continuity for a while to just settle down, learn his place and focus on his game, but unfortunately our wings can't stay healthy.  It is what it is. 

[tstorey_97]

I'm sorry, if this has already been mentioned.

Grant was recruited by Harvard and Yale. His Mom is an engineer for NASA and I think he was captain of the chess team at UT. (I haven't confirmed that yet)

He's got "head coach" written all over him. In the meantime, hitting some shots would be great and he's been doing just that of late.

He reads the floor really well and is often unnoticeable as he is usually in correct position.

When he has the ball, his team mates all break for his excellent passes.  I guess he's stuck with being a "small center" when he seems more like a 'biggish two."

[mmmmm]

I know Grant is strong and moves his feet well. He also has a solid understanding of how to play defense and what his role is on offense; but, is there any way for him to work on his sheer athleticism?

Sure, of course. He needs to lose some of that fat, for a start. He's got a lot of capacity for improvement with his hip joint muscles, too - he just needs to put in the time.

We can be confident about his work ethic; probably he'll show up to training camp 2020 looking (and especially moving) noticeably differently.

It's not likely that he'll ever be known for his first step or his shot-blocking, but there's more than one way to get to the rim or to protect the rim on the other end. Then, too, as much as athleticism, anticipation is a key element in playing good team ball, and that's already one of Grant's strengths; again, in Year 2 he'll likely take a step up in that area, after a season plus playoffs of rotation minutes.

Lolz. Grant Williams has a 5.4% body fat. He can't lose any weight.

I think his lateral movement is pretty good. I think his hips are good for a 240 big man with 5.4% body fat. His bench was the most at the combine. Meanwhile, his lane agility time beat players like Kevin Huerter, Aaron Holliday, Zhaire Smith, Landry Shamet, Josh Hart, Dwyane Bacon, Svi, TJ McConnell, Delon Wright, Elfrid Payton, etc. In other words, his hip flexibility and agility is pretty good.

I concur.  I also think Grant is deceptive in that he's one of those guys (Gordon is also this way) who moves with "an economy of movement".  He steps to where he needs to be and is very rarely scrambling or wasting motion.  Guys like this don't always appear to be moving "with energy" or "explosively".

A great example of this in baseball is watching Jackie Bradley, Jr.   Yes, he does occasionally make the diving, leaping athletic catch.  But most of the time, he makes such an efficient line to the ball that catches that would be highlight reel for other players (because they have to leap or go all out for) he simply catches.  The kid is a real savant out there.