Getty Robert Williams III of the Boston Celtics reacts.
A workout video of Robert Williams hoisting up long-to-mid-range jumpers has recently made its way around the internet, and Boston Celtics fans seem to be absolutely elated with the idea of such advancements being added to his offensive repertoire.
Rob Williams is healthy and working to make strides on both ends of the floor this off-season! @celtics
However, in a recent interview with NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg, Time Lord’s trainer, Aaron Miller, suggested that while these additions to his scoring arsenal could certainly prove to be major weapons within the C’s offensive scheme, fans should strongly consider pumping the breaks when it comes to what their current expectations are.
“What I want people to understand is, like, even if he doesn’t shoot a three, maybe he gets it and reverses it. Maybe he gets it and throws it right back. But we’re getting two birds with one stone here where he’s gaining his confidence, he’s getting his conditioning up, he’s becoming a better screener, he’s moving around. It’s just putting it all together,” Miller said.
Miller would continue on to note that he’s “not saying that he’s going to shoot three or four a game,” but suggests that “if it has to happen,” having worked on these types of shots will only better the odds of success, for, as he stated, “it’s not that he’s never seen it before.”
Kristaps Porzingis Reveals Hopes for First Celtics Season
Though Robert Williams adding floor-spacing abilities to his game would certainly be a delight to see for Celtics fans, this summer they already went about and added a true shooting big man to Joe Mazzulla’s rotation in tantalizing power forward, Kristaps Porzingis.
While his arrival in Beantown should already be enough for the franchise’s faithful followers to get excited, recently the 27-year-old made an eye-catching remark via his personal Instagram account where he posted a picture of himself in an “Ever Green” C’s T-Shirt and shamrock-emblazoned athletic shorts with a caption that read, “may the next season be my best season ☘️”.
“May the next season be my best season ☘️”
Kristaps Porzingis is ready to go to work for the Celtics 👀
(via @kporzee / IG)
Of course, this sentiment suggests that the best may not have yet come for the likes of Porzingis, which is a highly entertaining premise when considering he’s already proven himself to be an All-Star and is coming off a tremendous 2022-23 campaign with the Washington Wizards where he posted stellar averages of 23.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.5 blocks while shooting 49.8 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from distance.
Should his first season with the Celtics actually wind up proving to be his best, it’s very likely that Boston will wind up seeing the big man, along with cornerstones Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, heading out the Indianapolis for the illustrious yearly mid-season All-Star Game.
Ex-Celtics Wing Sounds Off on Current Club
Though all seems to be going well for this iteration of the Boston Celtics (*knock on wood*), the same unfortunately cannot be said for one of their former players, Evan Fournier.
Coming off an incredibly underwhelming season with the New York Knicks where he played in just 27 contests and spent most of the season in head coach Tom Thibodeau’s dog house, the 30-year-old sharpshooter has been a hot name found within the offseason trade rumor cycle thus far into the summer and, in a recent interview with Yahn Ohnona of the French publication L’Equipe, he admitted that he doubts that he’ll remain in the Big Apple for the 2023-24 season.
“I’m going to be traded. It’s not possible otherwise. Or I’d be stuck, and so would they. They have several players with big contracts coming in. Unless they want to pay a crazy luxury tax… If I stayed, it would be a disaster basketball-wise for my career,” Fournier said.
Fournier, who is slated to make an average of $18.9 million a year over the next two seasons, would also note that, due to his salary, the Knicks “have no interest in keeping me” and that he prefers to be offloaded, as he said: “I can manage a year without playing. Two… that would be terrible.”
The veteran swingman was acquired by the Celtics via trade with the Orlando Magic at the 2020 NBA Trade Deadline and went on to start 10 out of the 16 games he played for the team during the regular season, only to have this followed up by starting all five games for the club during their first-round playoff series loss against the Brooklyn Nets.
He would wrap up his short stint with Boston boasting averages of 13.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.3 steals while shooting 46.3 percent from deep before inking a four-year, $73 million deal with New York the following offseason.