Perfect fit. Boston gets a rim protector and rebounder. Can play with or without Horford who is an outstanding 3 point shooter. RW will develop into a formidable, tough player. There's no question in Stevens, RW will get the elite bigs coaching and development sadly missing since Stansbury left.

Happy for Robert. He'll make up the lesser millionaire salary on that second contract...and a chance to play on NBA Championship contender teams. Boston has to be the favorite in the East, regardless of where LeBron goes.

In some ways, Robert is lucky to land on a good team like Boston. It'll cost him some $ right now- but it might give him a chance to show out and get a good second contract.

Oh I'm higher than 30% I'm just the only one on Texages getting picked on.

I'll stick by my bet a freshmen with mystery goes higher in the draft. You people can bash rocks against the wall telling me have no idea. Last years draft was poor on bigs. Robert blew the mystery and entered a much deeper draft of bigs. It is what it is. Robert got picked by a team that can develop talent, it's up to Robert to take take it. But make no mistake Robert Williams lost a lot of money.

Double Diamond said:

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I'll stick by my bet a freshmen with mystery goes higher in the draft.

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Mitchell Robinson went all-in with the 'man of mystery' approach (sat out college season, skipped NBA combine) and that didn't work out so well for him. So you still gotta have some balance to the approach.

I agree that the longer you stay, the longer people have to nitpick you. Even somebody like Luka Doncic who was the youngest ever Finals MVP at 19 years old over in the Euro League - second best professional league on the planet - was gradually getting nit-picked. Side note - May have to become bandwagon Mavs fan soon - Luka intrigues the hell out of me.

Anyways, at the end of the day, I think things actually couldn't have worked out much better for Robert Williams. He lost some money on his first NBA contract than say if he'd gone late lottery, but a lot of long-term success in the NBA (and signing a lucrative second contract) is about fit...and going to Boston was just about the best fit you could have drawn up for him. Great coach, well run organization, championship contender, lots of strong vets to show him the rope. In the end, things seemed to actually work out almost perfectly for him in terms of an NBA landing spot. He now needs to deliver the goods obviously and do his part. If he does, then he can make a fortune like both Khris Middleton and Deandre Jordan eventually did despite those guys being drafted in second round.

94chem said:

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He fell more than anything because he walked after a loose ball against Miss. State. Film don't lie.

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Listened to a couple of Celtics podcasts/radio shows over the weekend doing their in-depth take on Robert, how he fits, why he fell in the draft, etc. Concerns about Williams off-court issues (and motor) were repeatedly mentioned as a factor in his dropping. Between Hogg, Caldwell, Williams, etc...all the off court stuff obviously was one reason last year's team became particularly unlikable. So much talent, and yet so much knucklehead. You had a few stable folks like Tyler and Duane Wilson (who literally gave up his knee for the team), but unfortunately too many other guys who couldn't seem to get out of their own way. Was still a decent season with a handful of great moments, but they obviously threw away some wins.

Yes, Ben: kids staying longer at Texas A&M under the current coach CAN get better (see Davis, Tyler), but it appears to require effort on their part and the program instead produces suspensions instead of effort from most of the players.

Disappointing especially if they take seriously playing at the next level. Off-court issues and "handling" clearly hurt RW. And his on-court play probably turned him into a "project" which is what the late first round is all about. It also means he likely is on their bench sooner than second rounders and somewhat less likely to spend quite as much of the season in the Gatorade league.

Pumpkinhead said:

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Double Diamond said:

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I'll stick by my bet a freshmen with mystery goes higher in the draft.

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Mitchell Robinson went all-in with the 'man of mystery' approach (sat out college season, skipped NBA combine) and that didn't work out so well for him. So you still gotta have some balance to the approach

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Mitchell didn't play a single second of college ball, committed to several times, including WKU at least twice, and eventually bailed on college altogether.

That's not even remotely the same as RWs "mystery" approach had he left after 2017. Go check out the 2017 draft, as there were several teams reaching for big men in the top 20 (all of which were freshmen). I'm glad RW came back another year, and I'm glad he was drafted by the Celtics/Stevens, but he clearly would have been drafted higher and made more money had he gone in 2017.

_lefraud_ said:

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Pumpkinhead said:

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Double Diamond said:

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I'll stick by my bet a freshmen with mystery goes higher in the draft.

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Mitchell Robinson went all-in with the 'man of mystery' approach (sat out college season, skipped NBA combine) and that didn't work out so well for him. So you still gotta have some balance to the approach

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Mitchell didn't play a single second of college ball, committed to several times, including WKU at least twice, and eventually bailed on college altogether.

That's not even remotely the same as RWs "mystery" approach had he left after 2017. Go check out the 2017 draft, as there were several teams reaching for big men in the top 20 (all of which were freshmen). I'm glad RW came back another year, and I'm glad he was drafted by the Celtics/Stevens, but he clearly would have been drafted higher and made more money had he gone in 2017.

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I agree with you.

greg.w.h said:

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Yes, Ben: kids staying longer at Texas A&M under the current coach CAN get better (see Davis, Tyler), but it appears to require effort on their part and the program instead produces suspensions instead of effort from most of the players.

Disappointing especially if they take seriously playing at the next level. Off-court issues and "handling" clearly hurt RW. And his on-court play probably turned him into a "project" which is what the late first round is all about. It also means he likely is on their bench sooner than second rounders and somewhat less likely to spend quite as much of the season in the Gatorade league.

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I agree.

On projections for Robert Williams next season, after listening to some of the Celtics broadcasts on how Robert might immediately fit in, their roster will have a lot of adapting to do to incorporate All-Stars Hayward and Irving back into the lineup. Their insider types as of now were guessing that Williams might be a 10-15 minutes per game guy off the bench, with his role while in there nothing more than to hustle on defense, get some rebounds, and catch lobs. Besides Stevens being very good at defining players roles and pushing the right buttons, they think hanging around vets like Al Horford will be very valuable as well for Robert to learn the ropes.

agfan1030 said:

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bobinator said:

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His work ethic was part of the problem also, it's not all on the coaching staff. But yeah, Stevens might be the best there is so we'll see what he's got.

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This is what I was thinking as he got passed over. Robert didn't always show up in a game. He got lazy at times. But, no one could bring as much excitement to the floor as Robert did....outstanding athletic ability. I am happy for him to go to a team with great leaders/developers.

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0 for 18 threes !

correction : 0-12 this year !

2-18 last year !

2-30 overall ! He should shoot left handed .

I feel like the DNC has invaded the Aggie Basketball board with their talking points sometimes. Oh look, we have a negative to latch onto. Hooray, let me repeat it.

Did teams come out to guard Robert at the 3 point line at any point in the season because he would shoot it from there less than once per game? If so, did that ever open things up for Tyler down low or even for DJ to operate against a smaller player in the paint?

BigJim49 AustinNowDallas said:

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agfan1030 said:

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bobinator said:

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His work ethic was part of the problem also, it's not all on the coaching staff. But yeah, Stevens might be the best there is so we'll see what he's got.

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This is what I was thinking as he got passed over. Robert didn't always show up in a game. He got lazy at times. But, no one could bring as much excitement to the floor as Robert did....outstanding athletic ability. I am happy for him to go to a team with great leaders/developers.

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0 for 18 threes !

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I blame Deputy Travis for throwing out that incorrect stat that others now parrot. That is all on you Deputy.

Maybe OP is right and maybe not but somehow, someway I think RW would have been ok either way. I recall his family saying he was not ready for the " adult" lifestyle of the NBA last yr so it was possibly as much a personal/ maturity thing mpor ethan a pure financial decision.

Here's the part I find interesting, how did we successfully recruit a guy with his athleticism and potential. Kudos to whoever pulled that off and kept the competition at bay. A&M must have been recruiting him very early.

halfastros81 said:

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Maybe OP is right and maybe not but somehow, someway I think RW would have been ok either way. I recall his family saying he was not ready for the " adult" lifestyle of the NBA last yr so it was possibly as much a personal/ maturity thing mpor ethan a pure financial decision.

Here's the part I find interesting, how did we successfully recruit a guy with his athleticism and potential. Kudos to whoever pulled that off and kept the competition at bay. A&M must have been recruiting him very early.

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This was the first time that A&M had a pick in the NBA First Round since the 2007 draft (Acie Law).

Pumpkinhead said:

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halfastros81 said:

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Maybe OP is right and maybe not but somehow, someway I think RW would have been ok either way. I recall his family saying he was not ready for the " adult" lifestyle of the NBA last yr so it was possibly as much a personal/ maturity thing mpor ethan a pure financial decision.

Here's the part I find interesting, how did we successfully recruit a guy with his athleticism and potential. Kudos to whoever pulled that off and kept the competition at bay. A&M must have been recruiting him very early.

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This was the first time that A&M had a pick in the NBA First Round since the 2007 draft (Acie Law).

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Irony or not that he will be on the same team as Horford??

Seems like we typically faced a 2-3 zone a lot last year... that makes PnR a little tough with so much traffic in the paint.