Grant Williams is grateful for Jayson Tatum's support amid locker room controversy
Grant Williams has recently come under fire for being perceived as a bad locker room presence. The fifth-year veteran's disastrous spell with the Dallas Mavericks significantly damaged his reputation around the NBA. During a recent interview on 98.5 The Sports Hub, legendary play-by-play announcer Mike Gorman noted how Williams had been a bad presence throughout his tenure in Boston.
"He was annoying," Gorman said. "He was annoying to everybody ... it kind of wore thin. It wore thin quickly in Dallas, obviously. ... He's not good enough to have teams say well, 'Despite that, we're gonna keep him here because he's a great player.' He's not. He's an extra ... if you're a bad locker room guy, and you're the eighth or ninth guy, you're not gonna be the eighth or ninth guy for long, because you're not gonna be on the team for long."
Gorman's comments went viral on social media. As such, Celtics star Jayson Tatum defended his former teammate.
Williams has now shared his thoughts on the current rumors surrounding his personality and impact within a locker room. He noted how he maintains a good relationship with multiple former teammates. He also thanked Tatum for his public support, especially since no one had asked the All-Star forward to participate in the discussion.
“Yeah, that meant the world,” Williams told Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. “And honestly, I didn’t even ask him. So, that’s why it was even cooler and I had to thank him afterward because that’s my dog for life. And all those guys up in Boston are...You can’t control what other people say about you or what other people do around you. All you can do is focus on what you are really involved with in the moment. And my goal right now is to just continue to grow this bond with this team, continue to grow the Hornets franchise in general and continue to impact winning.”
Following his tough spell with the Mavericks, Williams was traded to the Charlotte Hornets at the Feb. 8 trade deadline. He has already begun to make his presence felt on the court and is clearly thriving in a new environment.
During his time with the Celtics, Williams was a core rotation piece in two Eastern Conference Finals runs and a trip to the NBA Finals. His tenure with the franchise didn't end badly, either. He helped facilitate a sign-and-trade deal so Boston didn't lose a core contributor for nothing.
Williams will now need to string together multiple seasons of solid production with little off-court issues if he wants to rebuild his reputation in the NBA. Unfortunately, when things go wrong following a trade, rumors begin to swirl. Now, he needs to focus on proving himself as a valuable on-court contributor and locker-room leader.
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