Does Charlotte Hornets forward Grant Williams have a reputation problem?
Williams has been traded twice since last summer and recently received some media criticism in his former NBA markets.
Williams and Seth Curry were traded to the Hornets from Dallas at the trade deadline for P.J. Washington. While the Mavericks, who also received a trade exception, fleeced the Hornets, it was interesting that Dallas gave up on Williams so soon.
Grant Williams Called A Bad Teammate By His Two Former Squads, Celtics Star Comes To His Defense
Williams struggled in his short stint with the Mavericks. The 25-year-old forward lost his starting power forward job during his stint with the Mavs. He averaged 8.1 points and 3.6 rebounds while posting a shooting slash line of .413/.376/.745.
The Mavericks acquired Williams in a sign-and-trade from Boston. As part of the deal, the Mavs guaranteed Williams four years for $53 million.
Like with the Celtics in 2022-23, Williams struggled defensively, though he was above average on the perimeter. He also was pretty much strictly a catch-and-shoot 3-point shooter for the Mavericks, attempting 66.2% of his shots from beyond the arc. With the Mavs, Williams posted a -2.5 plus/minus rating.
However, at the time of the trade, ESPN’s Tim McMahon reported that the Mavs moved Williams due to “personality clashes” involving Williams in Dallas.
“I would say one of the ways that Grant Williams rubbed people the wrong way, the yap, yap, yapping obviously that’s kind of part of it with him,” MacMahon said on The Hoops Collective Podcast with Brian Windhorst. “Which it’s charmingly obnoxious if he’s productive and it’s grating when he’s not. But he didn’t report in good shape and Grant Williams not in good shape is not a good defender. Grant Williams has proven throughout the course of his career when he gets in shape he can be an impactful defender. But that’s not the guy that the Mavericks got.”
Williams Trash Talk Luka Doncic
Speaking to 105.3 The Fan, Mavericks assistant general manager Michael Finley told a story about a scrimmage in which Williams trash-talked Luka Doncic. In response, Finley said Doncic went on a 26-6 run himself.
ICYMI this weekend, #Mavs assistant GM Michael Finley was on with @AlecOnTheRadio, @MrChrisArnold and @Blakelive__, and told a great story about a legendary Luka practice performance! Don't sleep on the our weekend shows! #TOLO pic.twitter.com/13SgNHPN43
— 105.3 The FAN (@1053thefan) March 11, 2024
“I remember, just to share a quick story with you guys, one day in practice, a player on our team, I won’t call his name out, but it’s Grant Williams, he decided he wanted to get under Luka’s skin.He felt Luka didn’t come that day ready to practice. To make a long story short, they had a scrimmage going and he was talking trash to Luka up and down the court. So finally, Luka says okay and Luka went on a 26-6 run by himself. You can ask anybody, I’m not exaggerating. He showed everything. The 3s, the post-ups, the floaters, everything by himself.”
“Everybody on the sidelines, including the coaches, said do not poke the bear. That’s what everybody kept saying, do not poke the bear. We had guests in the gym at the time and they were on the sidelines oohing and ahhing. It was unbelievable. I was over there and the kid couldn’t miss. I’m not talking easy shots. He was showing the whole repertoire in this five or six-minute span. It was a 26-6 run by himself.”
Williams and Doncic share the same agent, Billy Duffy.
Jayson Tatum Comes To Defense
Then earlier this past week, Boston Celtics commentator Mike Gorman said Williams was a “bad locker room guy” during his four-year tenure in Beantown during a radio interview on 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston.
“He was annoying to everybody. I think initially everybody thought, ‘Oh, isn’t he kind of a wise ass, but he’s kind of cute, and he’s kind of funny.’ And then it just kind of wore thin, and it got thin quickly in Dallas, obviously. If you start to take on (Luka) Dončić, you’re not going to be around for long.”
“So, yeah, he had some issues in that area that if he doesn’t get rid of — he’s not good enough to have teams say, ‘Well, OK, but despite that, we’re going to keep him here because he’s a great player. He’s not. He’s an extra. He’s an eighth, ninth, 10th guy on your roster. So, those guys are very replaceable, especially if you get a guy that’s a bad locker room guy.
“If you’re a bad locker room guy and you’re the eighth or ninth guy, you’re not going to be the eighth or ninth guy for long because you’re not going to be on the team for long.”
Upon seeing Gorman’s comments through NBA Central, Celtics star and a good friend of Jayson Tatum reacted on X, defending Williams, per Asish Mathur of HoopsWire.
Grant Williams= Great teammate! https://t.co/JYHCavRNC3
— Jayson Tatum (@jaytatum0) March 13, 2024
Last Word
So, is Williams a bad teammate? It is all who you ask, but where there is fire, there is probably some truth.
Here is the thing. Williams definitely has an edge that dates back to his days at Tennessee. But to be a physical defender and have the reputation as a defensive ace, though that moniker has disapated a little, that Williams is you have to have this edge.
So, how has Williams been in Charlotte?
Since coming to the Hornets, Charlotte has posted a 7-10, and Williams has been a major reason for this. He averages 14.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists while posting a shooting slash line of .491/.361/.804. He has produced two double-doubles and has a -0.9 plus/minus rating, seventh on the team.
Here is what Hornets star forward Miles Bridges told Roderick Boone of the News and Observer on Saturday.
“He’s just been a leader. He’s been a great leader for us, high-IQ player. Brings a winning attitude. He’s been great. Been keeping the guys together — team dinners, off-the-court stuff. So he’s been great for us. He’s a great teammate.
“I know there’s been a lot of talk about him in the locker room in other places, but everybody who’s played with Grant knows he’s a great guy and a great teammate.”
