Grant Williams certainly made quite the impression on the Celtics during his pre-draft workout. But it was one he thought that would deter Boston from ultimately drafting him.
The now-Dallas Mavericks forward appeared on the “Run Your Race” podcast and relived his pre-draft workout that involved him drawing up plays and getting cussed out by a former assistant.
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“In my Boston workout, I’m working out, playing well I was shooting the ball great, everything else. It was a competitive workout,” Williams said. “We get to scrimmaging, five-on-five with coaches. The next thing you know, at the end of the workout, we’re doing late-game situations. My coach at the time Tony Dobbins … at he time he was thinking of a play to draw up for us. My know-it-all (expletive) is like, ‘I got a play.’ I grab the clipboard, draw up a play, it works. I’m lit, right? The next thing you know, they’re going with a different defense, so he started to think of a play again. And I’m like, ‘I got something.’ Take the clipboard again, draw up a play, that (expletive) don’t work. Probably the worst play draw you’ve ever seen.”
“I get cursed out by Jay Larranaga after. Literally. ‘Don’t you ever think you’re smarter than a coach.’ So I’m like, ‘Well, I’m not going to Boston,’” he added. “And Boston’s known to do a three-minute drill at the end. 1-on-1′s before we do a three-minute drill, I sprain my ankle. Oretty badly. And Danny (Ainge) walks from upstairs to downstairs and says, ‘Hey Grant, you don’t have to run. I think that’s the only reason why they drafted me. Cause I was like, ‘(Expletive) that, Danny. I’m running. I’m good. …”
Williams also noted that the Celtics were coming off the drama surrounding them and Kyrie Irving, so he was convinced he wasn’t going to hear his name called by the C’s.
While waiting during the draft, Williams said he was eating chips when he received three text messages from friends he hadn’t hear from in a few years congratulating him. He called his agent, who said he hadn’t heard anything about him getting drafted by Boston.
“Then (he said), ‘Yeah, you’re going to Boston at 22,’” Williams said on the podcast.
Williams ending up having a productive four seasons with the Celtics, becoming a reliable bench player and found himself in the starting five quite a bit last season. The 24-year-old was traded to Dallas over the summer for draft picks before signing a four-year, $54 million deal with the Mavs.
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The Celtics and the Mavericks meet on Jan. 22, marking the first time Williams will see his old team.
