Boston Celtics: Complete 2018 offseason grades
By Kane Pitman
Drafting Robert Williams
Texas A&M big man Robert Williams slipped further than many predicted in the 2018 NBA Draft, with question marks over his commitment and professionalism hurting his stock in the lead-up.
This resulted in Boston gleefully snatching Williams with the 27th overall pick, a selection that was as close to as universally endorsed as one can be at that late first round slot. Unfortunately for Williams, he’s had a rough start to his NBA career. A series of unfortunate incidents have left pre-draft skeptics feeling pretty confident in their original assessments.
Via NESN, Williams missed his introductory conference call with the media. Explaining the early gaff, Williams admitted it was simply a case of post-draft fatigue.
"“I actually went to my aunt’s house and went to sleep because I was so tired,” Williams said. “When I woke up, my sister was like, ‘You have a conference call.’”"
Incredibly, that was just the beginning for Williams, who then missed his flight back to Boston, subsequently absent for his first scheduled Summer League practice with the rest of the Celtics squad. For the second time in as many appointments, Williams had some explaining to do.
"“I went home to get a couple things. Just a missed flight, a missed communication by me,” Williams told reporters Tuesday at the Auerbach Center in Boston, via The Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach. “It’s all on me. So, just looking to push forward and move past that.”"
Can’t make this stuff up: Celtics say rookie first-round pick Robert Williams, who was introduced here Friday, missed his flight back to Boston and was not present for the start of summer league practice today. Williams already overslept an introductory conference call.
— Chris Forsberg (@ChrisForsberg_) July 1, 2018
After those two hiccups, you would assume Williams was desperate to let his play do the talking in Las Vegas. That unfortunately was not the case either, with injury restricting the 6’9″ forward to just six minutes of play for the entire tournament. Williams banged knees with a Philadelphia 76ers opponent in the opening contest of Summer League, and was held out for the rest of the schedule.
It’s been an auspicious start to his career for sure, but on the surface, the pick still remains a high-upside selection based on what we know from college. If Williams can keep an eye on the time, he still projects to be an impact player down the line. Patience will be the key on a stacked Boston roster.
Grade: B-