The Grant Williams era in Dallas abruptly ended last month when the Mavericks dealt him away to the Hornets at the trade deadline. Tidbits about the former Celtics’ tenure in Dallas have leaked out after the deal from the Mavericks camp that the big man rubbed some in the organization the wrong way.
Over the weekend, we heard more on the record from Mavericks assistant general manager Michael Finley describing one noteworthy exchange between Williams and Mavericks star Luka Doncic.
In an appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, Finley spoke about a practice incident where Williams tried to call out Doncic.
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“I remember, just to share a quick story with you guys,” Finley said. “One day in practice, a player on our team, I won’t call his name out — but it’s Grant Williams. He decided he wanted to get under Luka’s skin. He felt Luka didn’t come that day ready to practice. To make a long story short, they had a scrimmage going and he was talking trash to Luka up and down the court. So finally, Luka says ‘Okay,” and Luka went on a 26-6 run by himself. You can ask anybody, I’m not exaggerating. He showed everything, the 3s, the postups, the floaters, everything by himself.”
While most players would likely be happy to do some gloating or trash-talking back after such a performance, Finley indicated that was not the case between Doncic and Williams.
“(Luka) didn’t say a word,” Finley said. “Everybody on the sidelines, including the coaches said do not poke the bear. That’s what everybody kept saying, do not poke the bear. We had guests in the gym at the time and they were on the sidelines oohing and ahhing. It was unbelievable, I was over there and the kid couldn’t miss. I’m not talking easy shots, he was showing the whole repertoire in this five or six minute span. It was a 26-6 run by himself.”
Finley’s story lines up with ESPN’s Tim McMahon’s commentary about Williams’ tenure in Dallas last month on the Hoop Collective podcast. Williams reportedly stopped wearing Doncic’s sneakers during his Dallas tenure, switching to Tatum’s as tensions rose.
“One of the ways that Grant Williams rubbed people the wrong way — the yap, yap, yapping, obviously,” MacMahon said. “That’s kind of part of it with him. It’s charmingly obnoxious if it’s productive, and it’s grating when he’s not.
“He didn’t report in good shape. Grant Williams not in good shape is not a good defender. Grant Williams has proven throughout the course of his career that when he gets in shape, he can be an impactful defender. But that’s not the guy that the Mavericks got.”
Williams also took a bit of a veiled shot at the Mavericks after his first win with the Hornets last month.
“It’s great to get a win for the city and play for the jersey that’s across your chest, not on your back,” Williams told reporters in Charlotte. “Everybody touched the ball, we trusted one another, a team that never played, practiced together, every single person seemed like they had each other’s back.”
Boston originally executed a sign-and-trade by sending Williams to Dallas back in July 2023 in exchange for two second-round picks. Williams inked a four-year, $54 million contract as part of the deal. Just nine months later, he will finish out that contract with the Charlotte Hornets after the Mavericks sent him, Seth Curry and a future first round pick to the Hornets for forward PJ Washington last month.
