Who do we keep off the VSL team?

[Goldstar88]

The Celtics are still looking to add another big man to their 15-man roster for next season. However, it won’t be undrafted Purdue big man Trevion Williams. The 6-foot-9 center who suited up for Boston in Summer League agreed to an exhibit 10 contract with the Golden State Warriors on Friday according to Shams Charania of Stadium. Williams will have an opportunity to earn a roster spot with the defending champions who still have a couple slots available after free agency.

Watch them develop him into Looney 2.0

They’re completely different players.  Looney was a small forward in college who has bulked up to be an athletic center.  Williams will never have that kind of mobility, and it’s that lack of mobility that is why the Celtics went with Kabengele.

I really think people are exaggerating his lack of athleticism. Travion is in much better shape than he was in college and was running the floor well in SL. He had several alley-oops which you can’t do with poor mobility..Travion was also averaging 6.6rebs in 14mins of play during SL. He’s a better athlete than Grant is.

Umm, simply no.  And we have combine stats to prove it.  6 weeks before summer league Trevion was among the least mobile prospects in the draft, arguably the least mobile.  Dead last in agility  and shuttle run.  3rd last in the sprint.  Bottom 5 in max vert.  He did not suddenly become a mobile dude in 6 weeks.  Finishing an alley-oop because he’s tall doesn’t mean he’s mobile.  He doesn’t sniff a candle to Grant in terms of mobility.

Did you watch the summer league games? If seeing is believing, go to the 50 second mark onward:

.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRGzKS_1lik

Grant can't run the floor like that. He often gets blocked by the rim when trying to dunk. He can't jump, which is why he averages 3 rebounds per game. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2EUNPyE-f4

Here's what Tatum thinks of his athleticism: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/YE9BFtwVoSY

That means he's not an explosive athlete, that doesn't necessarily mean he's not mobile. Watch how he guarded Durant and Giannis. That's the kind of defense that coaches love.

Grant’s lateral quickness did get better once he lost weight.  He’s really strong, which helps him guard players that are taller than him. Grant can’t jump,  thus the 3 rebounds per game and he cant run like Travion did on those fast breaks in the video clip.

This whole thing started by me saying Travion doesn’t have enough “mobility.”  That has nothing to do with running a fast break.  Grant, in the other hand, has terrific mobility for a player of his size.

How can a player have good mobility if they can't run up and down the floor on a fast break? Grant has OK lateral quickness, but for a player that's 6'5"/235lbs, he has poor mobility overall. He can't jump or run the floor well, which is part of being mobile. If Grant could move better, he would be like PJ Tucker. He is not though, as their athletic abilities are night and day.

You're inventing things now

Which part do you disagree with?

[Atzar]

How can a player have good mobility if they can't run up and down the floor on a fast break? Grant has OK lateral quickness, but for a player that's 6'5"/235lbs, he has poor mobility overall. He can't jump or run the floor well, which is part of being mobile. If Grant could move better, he would be like PJ Tucker. He is not though, as their athletic abilities are night and day.

You're inventing things now

Which part do you disagree with?

Most of it, honestly.

Grant can't jump.  Aside from that, his mobility isn't a problem.  I don't see this inability to run the floor that you do.  He gets up and down the court just fine.  And I don't know what you see when you watch PJ Tucker, because athleticism isn't a highlight of his game either.  They're both similarly ground-bound players with good strength and lateral quickness. 

I think Grant's impact is already comparable to that of PJ Tucker.  The only real caveat to that statement is that PJ is a mediocre rebounder whereas Grant is a bad one.  Aside from that, they have similar offensive and defensive roles, and similar performance within those roles.  Perhaps I'd say that PJ is more experienced and therefore more aware of his own limitations (particularly with the ball in his hands) at this point in his career, whereas Grant still tries to do too much sometimes.  But I'd expect Grant to improve at that, either by continuing to hone his craft or by simply learning where his boundaries are.  Regardless, there's certainly no "night and day" difference when comparing the two players.

[Goldstar88]

How can a player have good mobility if they can't run up and down the floor on a fast break? Grant has OK lateral quickness, but for a player that's 6'5"/235lbs, he has poor mobility overall. He can't jump or run the floor well, which is part of being mobile. If Grant could move better, he would be like PJ Tucker. He is not though, as their athletic abilities are night and day.

You're inventing things now

Which part do you disagree with?

Most of it, honestly.

Grant can't jump.  Aside from that, his mobility isn't a problem.  I don't see this inability to run the floor that you do.  He gets up and down the court just fine.  And I don't know what you see when you watch PJ Tucker, because athleticism isn't a highlight of his game either.  They're both similarly ground-bound players with good strength and lateral quickness. 

I think Grant's impact is already comparable to that of PJ Tucker.  The only real caveat to that statement is that PJ is a mediocre rebounder whereas Grant is a bad one.  Aside from that, they have similar offensive and defensive roles, and similar performance within those roles.  Perhaps I'd say that PJ is more experienced and therefore more aware of his own limitations (particularly with the ball in his hands) at this point in his career, whereas Grant still tries to do too much sometimes.  But I'd expect Grant to improve at that, either by continuing to hone his craft or by simply learning where his boundaries are.  Regardless, there's certainly no "night and day" difference when comparing the two players.

PJ in his prime could cover 1-5. At 37 he’s a better athlete than Grant is at 22. They are the same height and they both shoot a lot of corner 3’s, but other than that, I don’t see many similarities. PJ was a 2/3 coming out of college, Grant was a 4. I like Grant as the backup PF, but I don’t think he’s quick enough to cover SF or tall and athletic enough to cover a C. PJ in his prime, could cover both.