Doc Rivers spent extra time investigating Sean Williams’ personality
Kevin Garnett recently called creating chemistry one of the toughest things to do in basketball, but these Celtics have managed to build an environment in which 15 players care about wins more than anything else. Doc Rivers does not want to threaten that growing bond, which is why he spent additional time investigating Sean Williams’ personality before the Celtics acquired him. (Boston Herald)
“I talked to everyone (from his past). I talked to more than usual, and I told him that’s unusual. I talked to nine coaches, assistant coaches, guys who played with him, because my locker room is unbelievable. I won’t bring in anyone, even for five days, who will upset that. The one thing they all said was he’s not just smart — he’s brilliant smart. But he does dumb things. Just being a ballplayer — that’s what he has to view himself as, and if he can do that, he has a chance.”
The Celtics obviously believe that Williams’ talent — he’s a high-flying big man who can really protect his own basket — is enough to justify the signing, even if the big man’s production has never matched his potential and his rap sheet includes being thrown off Boston College’s hoops team. Rivers said it’s probably Williams’ last chance to make it in the NBA, and hopefully Williams understands what rides on his behavior during the upcoming weeks.
“It’s tough to get a 10-day (contract), it’s tough to get through the reputation that you earned,” said the Celtics coach. “That’s something I always tell the guys. Now you have a chance to earn another one with us. It is tough. It’s tough for us to look at him in a different light than he was in.
“But I give guys chances. I have no problem with that, and I’ve always done it,” he said. “He’ll make the day. It won’t be me. It won’t be Kevin Garnett. He has the talent to be a very good NBA player, and he’s had the talent. Now he has another opportunity. And in a good way this is his last opportunity. I hope he takes advantage of it.”
Williams has always had the talent to succeed in the NBA. He hasn’t done so yet, but the Celtics are hoping this time might be different.
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Celtics Blog | Jay King | April 21, 2012
Hopefully, being in the town where he went to college will help him and he will grab this opportunity and be a Celtic for years to come. He definitely has the talent. Now to find out if he has the work ethic and smarts to seize a spot on this team. This could be a great pick-up. Go Cs…
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It’s about time we got some Thug Life at the Celts, as long as he channels that on court and takes his frustrations out on opposing players in a productive way, I have no problems with the odd brain snap every now and again. We can put this guy up against fake thugs like Bynum and World B—-. Now all we need to do is sign DeMarcus Cousins.
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One of the best things Ainge did this offseason (see, I don’t hate the Good Danny – it’s the Bad Danny I hate) was to change the team’s personality from, shall we say, quirky, to stable. I wasn’t a fan of sending Delonte West away and picking up Dooling, but it seems to have done wonder for Rondo. In fact, I think that is the one way in which you can call this a team built for Rondo; Danny seems to have gone out of his way to create a stable environment in the locker room. This seems to have stabilized the team’s charismatic point guard.
So it seems that bringing Williams in is a risk, but it seems to be a smart risk, and Doc seems to have done ‘due diligence’. Good work, Doc.
But dude, I caution very strongly against remarks like this:
” his rap sheet includes being thrown off Boston College’s hoops team.”
So far as I know, William’s actual “rap sheet” only includes a minor altercation in a cell phone store, and some substance abuse issue, substance abuse being a blatant NON CRIME. I’m sorry, but do you think Satchmo Armstrong was a bad guy if he took a drink during prohibition? Or do you recognize that prohibition itself was wrong?
So there’s that. Plus, please stop assuming, as you seem to do, that if an authority is always in the wrong. Williams running afoul of the BC administration doesn’t mean he was in the wrong. For God’s sake, you went to school, right? Were administrators, teachers, etc., always in the right? Maybe you went to some sainted school, but anywhere I’ve been, it’s not the case that the guy or gal, or guys and gals, on the top of the heap are necessarily enlightened beings, right?
Sometimes hard work, talent and good ethics raise people to the top. A lot of times, though, it takes ruthlessness, cheating, connections, narrowmindedness, etc.. Nice guys don’t always finish first, or haven’t you heard?
I’d like to get to know the guy better, before I judge him and his past/future.
Kudos to Doc and Danny for giving him a chance. And yeah, I do enjoy giving them earned kudos.
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Heard dat. All I’m sayin is the Celtics need a bit more grit about themselves if they want to avoid bein pushed around by teams like the Lakers. If this dude be 1 of them ”I don’t give a f–k” type brothaz then I feel to a certain degree, it would be good for this team. Sometimes you gotta play dirty against dirty teams like LAL and MIA.
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In 3 minutes of action this dude got 1 rebound. That’s pretty decent given the fact that he wasn’t even a Celtic for more than a few hours before he was thrown on the floor. And one good thing is that he is in fact eligible for the playoffs because he was waived before the 23rd of last month. So he should see extended playing time (since the team has had 4 days off) and we’ll see how well he fits. A defensive minded, potential rebound machine with a lot to prove? Who’s never had injury problems? I’d give him a shot too. Forget the character issues.
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Doc Rivers knows basketball talent. What a brilliant move to sign a true talent that only needs a little polish, direction and confidence building. Good luck to Sean and the Celtics organization.
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