The basketball Gods have not been kind to Robert Williams.
He should have spent all of his rookie year in Maine with the then Red Claws to work on picking up the fundamentals he lacked at the time, but injuries to Aron Baynes and Al Horford kept him on Boston’s bench as an emergency option instead.
He showed some level of improvement in his second season, but a hip injury cost him 38 games. When he finally returned, he played in four games before the COVID hiatus hit.
This season began with him on the bench behind a double-big lineup that, in part, existed as a way to find him minutes, but also limited how many minutes he could get. Then he, himself caught COVID-19 and experienced a flare-up of his hip issue. His season ended with turf toe and a sprained ankle.
Maybe his offseason regimen should include a visit to a purveyor of the dark arts. Maybe hop on I-49 out of his hometown of Shreveport and make the drive down to New Orleans. I know of a couple of places that’ll undo hexes and curses for a reasonable price.
Williams is in the midst of making a transition from “amazing athlete who plays basketball” to “basketball player with amazing athleticism.” Whether it be by divine intervention or downloading a yoga app, it would be nice if he can stop getting hurt as he climbs out of the chrysalis.
The hip is the biggest concern right now. Not only did it flare up this season, the Celtics almost seemed to take a Kemba Walker-flavored approach to it
“We’re just trying to manage it over the course of the long season so that he’s available more often than not, and then able to peak in minutes late,” Brad Stevens said back in February. “So I guess it’s more of just being alert to it. Obviously he had the two games that he sat out because it was bothering him, but we’re just alert to it. ... I guess you would call that managing it appropriately.”
That’s not something you want to hear about in a 23 year old. This is why one of the biggest questions of the offseason centers around Williams and his hip. Stevens, now in charge of making financial decisions for the Celtics, has one to make with Williams, who is extension-eligible this summer.
Each side of this coin is a bit of a roll of the dice. Stevens can offer Williams an extension now, hoping to lock up a potential long-term starting center at below market value, banking on Williams looking for some long-term security.
Or, he can wait this out and see how this season pans out for Williams, possibly avoiding an injury prone center who, while good, may never be able to stay on the floor consistently enough to provide the necessary value to the team. However, if Williams does have a full, healthy season, then the price can go way up.
It’s a tough call because there is a lot of credence to give to each argument. If Boston commits to three or four years to Williams at somewhere around $10 million per year, they’d be on the hook for $30-40 million for a part-time player. That’s not crippling in today’s NBA, but teams aren’t spending much on centers nowadays, and adding $10 million to that position for a 20-25 minute a night guy isn’t all that appetizing.
On the other hand, Williams has been one of the keys to unlocking this offense. We don’t know what [insert future coach’s name here] will run for an offense, but having a big man who can set picks, roll, and pass like Williams is certainly a luxury few teams enjoy. This past season, when Boston’s read-and-react offense was running more like a watch-and-wait-your-turn offense, it was the ascension of Williams that sparked some hope for Stevens.
“We need to be a better cutting team. It’s a little bit more difficult without Rob,” he said. “We tried to play with Rob as the hub at times, and that’s what he does really well is pass.”
That Williams is even at this point in his career is impressive. While he did show flashes of superior passing ability at the Las Vegas summer league in 2019, he didn’t exactly get a ton of court time to hone his timing with his teammates. It’s amazing that he has grown into a “hub of the offense” role so quickly, especially considering the obstacles in his way.
Williams is heading into his fourth season, but the summer of ‘19 was really his only true offseason as a pro. He has now started to grasp just how strong his super powers can be, and he has a full summer to put the work in to realize them.
He also needs to put in a fair amount of physiological work to protect that problematic hip. Whether it’s strength, flexibility, or both, Williams needs to figure out what it is that causes his hip issues, and how to combat it.
He can be a rare gem mined from the end of the first round of the draft; a player who entered the league with concerns about his attitude and health and grew into a reliable starting center. Williams can be a difference maker who strikes fear into players who dare enter his shot-blocking radius, while also working off an MVP candidate offensively to create space, provide outlets, and generate baskets.
There’s no doubt Stevens thinks highly of Williams as a player. Does he think highly enough of him to lock him up this summer, or will Stevens be too afraid to make that commitment?
