Welcome to Boston (and Maine), Amari Williams!

[djFan71]

Fun flier. If they had him equivalent to Raynaud, Broome, etc on their list, then the trade back was a great move.

Feels like the major flaw is getting out on 3 point shooters. If we can teach that / learn to cover for it better, the rest is fun. He's Fleming-sized length but completely inverted skillset - can dribble and pass but not shoot. Can hold up in the post on D, but not the perimeter.

Great guy to have on a 2-way given our (lack of) center depth.

[cloverleaf]

Fun flier. If they had him equivalent to Raynaud, Broome, etc on their list, then the trade back was a great move.

Feels like the major flaw is getting out on 3 point shooters. If we can teach that / learn to cover for it better, the rest is fun. He's Fleming-sized length but completely inverted skillset - can dribble and pass but not shoot. Can hold up in the post on D, but not the perimeter.

Great guy to have on a 2-way given our (lack of) center depth.

They can also scheme around that if he's that strong protecting the rim.

[Fencer reregistered]

More from Timi:

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Timo makes these guys look good. His Hugo highlights answered some concerns other videos had left me with.

[cloverleaf]

Because he can't shoot, can only go left, yup.

Also because while his driving/passing are good, sometimes the decision making is not. Like sometimes he will force passes in there, or force his drives and make mistakes, turn the ball over.

Also because he's very old and wasn't really on NBA team radars until this season..

He’s only 23. Yeah, I guess that’s older than a lot of guys coming out lately, but that’s still pretty young.

For a draft pick, it's very old.

For draft picks, 18/19 is young. 20 is kind of young. 21 is kind of old..22 is old, 23 is very old.

I believe he was really a soccer player until he had a really big growth spurt, so his poor shooting at 23 may not be bad as that of a lifelong poor shooter.

[Bill Lumbergh]

More from Timi:

Watch on YouTube

Timo makes these guys look good. His Hugo highlights answered some concerns other videos had left me with.

Guy's a regular wizard making these things. I feel like he makes the very best highlights.

[djFan71]

Fun flier. If they had him equivalent to Raynaud, Broome, etc on their list, then the trade back was a great move.

Feels like the major flaw is getting out on 3 point shooters. If we can teach that / learn to cover for it better, the rest is fun. He's Fleming-sized length but completely inverted skillset - can dribble and pass but not shoot. Can hold up in the post on D, but not the perimeter.

Great guy to have on a 2-way given our (lack of) center depth.

They can also scheme around that if he's that strong protecting the rim.

Yep!. That's what I meant when I said "learn to cover for it better" - ie, team, not just him.

[Triple M]

His offensive game is very poor in some areas because his touch seems atrocious. He had a soccer background and im curious which position he played because his vision and passing seems good. It seems like he almost plays like a defensive midfielder.

But if his touch is that bad than i dont think he's nba quality unless he is good in every other category, e.g. rebounding, rim protection, screening, perimeter defense, etc.

[Hal14]

Fun flier. If they had him equivalent to Raynaud, Broome, etc on their list, then the trade back was a great move.

Feels like the major flaw is getting out on 3 point shooters. If we can teach that / learn to cover for it better, the rest is fun. He's Fleming-sized length but completely inverted skillset - can dribble and pass but not shoot. Can hold up in the post on D, but not the perimeter.

Great guy to have on a 2-way given our (lack of) center depth.

I'm not sure if that is a flaw or if it's a scheme thing. Perhaps Kentucky told him to just play drop coverage, so he can focus on protecting the paint, protect the rim.

Most college teams don't really switch that much it seems like.

Edit: it might be a combination of both (scheme and ability) or maybe moreso ability. I just checked Amari's lane agility time (12.52)..it's the worst time out of anyone at the combine this year and also lower than everyone at the g league elite camp. Derik Queen got a bit of criticism for how poor his athletic testing numbers were..he was the lowest lane agility time at the combine..Amari didn't go to the combine..he was tested at g league elite camp but he was even slower in lane agility than Queen.

The 7'6" wingspan is a plus though and a 34" max vertical is decent for a big.

So it makes sense that he is used more as a drop coverage rim protector type of big, rather than a switchable one.

[Hal14]

His offensive game is very poor in some areas because his touch seems atrocious. He had a soccer background and im curious which position he played because his vision and passing seems good. It seems like he almost plays like a defensive midfielder.

But if his touch is that bad than i dont think he's nba quality unless he is good in every other category, e.g. rebounding, rim protection, screening, perimeter defense, etc.

Yeah his touch isn't good, probably one of the reasons he went as low in the draft as he did. Most of what I see on film with his made FG's is layups and dunks.

That does limit what he can do on offense. But then again, layups/dunks is all Kornet has done for field goal makes in the past couple years. It's all Time Lord did here. It's all Queta does, it's all Capela does, Mitchell Robinson, etc. And some of those guys don't have Amari's ball handling, driving ability, passing..

[ParticleMan]

i've never really seen a guy with this particular blend of skills (and flaws). the closest i can think of is a 7-foot ben simmons, both the good and the bad. hopefully not the indifference tho.

it'll be real interesting to see how the C's use him.

[Shak_Celts]

I’m always saying we got a steal or that I hope for it. This guy, I really don’t know how he fell so far! Guys like JD and Walsh that I had high hopes for, they had plenty reason they were in the second round. Amari is far from perfect or may not even be NBA ready yet, but how is his film #46? In what world? I’m talking the good and BAD I saw! He can do some of everything, but some of it is elite! Sure we have people who do a little of everything fall all the time, but that’s because they aren’t really elite at any one thing. I think he’s elite at passing (big man) and rebounding!

I thought I was going to see way more meh than I did. He must give bad interviews and had poor workouts? This one, I honestly don’t understand.


He may end up being poo, lot of lottery picks do too, but based on what he did there is no way he shouldn’t have been picked higher. I know he’s an old man but dang!! If Brad got him to agree to a two way that easily, that means his agent thought they wouldn’t be probably getting picked, because I would’ve picked a team that I thought I would have a shot to get up with the big team.

Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t think teams wait till it’s their pick to call either, in the second round, so if he was getting picked by someone else, their agent had the calls even before our pick most likely. Teams ask a few guys if they are willing to take 2-ways, they get turned down all the time because guys rather be FA.

[Dogen]

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Big love for the Amari pick here, harping on how is game translates to the NBA better than players taken before #46 like Newell, Thiero, and Kalkbrenner.

[themoneyteam2]

Love this pick as a high upside swing. First center drafted since Timelord. I'm a big CBB fan so watch a TON of basketball and he always popped when watching UK. Teams were legit afraid to go in the paint vs him

He is massive (pause). 7'0" with a 7'6" wingspan is absurd.

Great interior defender. He does a great job of playing his angles as a drop coverage defender. And he’s a strong rebounder too.

Great playmaker and is most comfortable as a facilitator, handling the ball on the perimeter, finding cutters with speedy bounce passes. He can also look for his own shot, straight-line driving to the basket.

Obviously lacks touch and FTs aren't good, but excited to see him in SL.

[Gant]

Bobby Krivitsky‬

Celtics second-round pick Amari Williams, expected to join the team on a two-way deal, will wear No. 77.

[Marvel]

Love this guy. Love the pick. His body is built for the NBA.

[djFan71]

Bobby Krivitsky‬

Celtics second-round pick Amari Williams, expected to join the team on a two-way deal, will wear No. 77.

Luka level passing!

[Smart2Nesmith43]

I find the comparison between Amari Williams and Ryan Kalkbrenner (that many wanted to take at 32 or even 28) fascinating considering how closely their phyiscal profile match.

One thing where they are not at all close is rebounding. Amari Williams had a 20.4 REB% in college this season. As a reference point, among regular rotation players, Drummond led the NBA with a 20.5 REB%. Ryan Kalkbrenner was at 14.1 REB% this season (that's what Bam Adebayo/Jonathan Isaac put up in the league).

I don't think Kalkbrenner's shooting is going to translate in a meaningful way (it's probably going to be like Valaunciunas where he takes like two threes per game and makes them at a fairly decent clip but nobody bothers guarding him out there and he can't bend defense that way) but Williams passing should still be there.

Kalkbrenner is a better finisher for sure though.

[cloverleaf]

His offensive game is very poor in some areas because his touch seems atrocious. He had a soccer background and im curious which position he played because his vision and passing seems good. It seems like he almost plays like a defensive midfielder.

But if his touch is that bad than i dont think he's nba quality unless he is good in every other category, e.g. rebounding, rim protection, screening, perimeter defense, etc.

He is very good in passing, rim protection, and rebounding, at least. Defending or shooting from the perimeter aren't IMO necessary for him to play a useful role, particularly since it sounds like they're looking to diversify beyond the 3s. He's a smart and phsical player with good vision, so I expect they could coach him up on screens, if not also, longer term, his perimeter play.

[Hal14]

I find the comparison between Amari Williams and Ryan Kalkbrenner (that many wanted to take at 32 or even 28) fascinating considering how closely their phyiscal profile match.

One thing where they are not at all close is rebounding. Amari Williams had a 20.4 REB% in college this season. As a reference point, among regular rotation players, Drummond led the NBA with a 20.5 REB%. Ryan Kalkbrenner was at 14.1 REB% this season (that's what Bam Adebayo/Jonathan Isaac put up in the league).

I don't think Kalkbrenner's shooting is going to translate in a meaningful way (it's probably going to be like Valaunciunas where he takes like two threes per game and makes them at a fairly decent clip but nobody bothers guarding him out there and he can't bend defense that way) but Williams passing should still be there.

Kalkbrenner is a better finisher for sure though.

Williams much tougher and stronger too, more athletic. I had them ranked pretty close to each other on my board..

[darrendaye]

I find the comparison between Amari Williams and Ryan Kalkbrenner (that many wanted to take at 32 or even 28) fascinating considering how closely their phyiscal profile match.

One thing where they are not at all close is rebounding. Amari Williams had a 20.4 REB% in college this season. As a reference point, among regular rotation players, Drummond led the NBA with a 20.5 REB%. Ryan Kalkbrenner was at 14.1 REB% this season (that's what Bam Adebayo/Jonathan Isaac put up in the league).

I don't think Kalkbrenner's shooting is going to translate in a meaningful way (it's probably going to be like Valaunciunas where he takes like two threes per game and makes them at a fairly decent clip but nobody bothers guarding him out there and he can't bend defense that way) but Williams passing should still be there.

Kalkbrenner is a better finisher for sure though.

Williams much tougher and stronger too, more athletic. I had them ranked pretty close to each other on my board..

Admittedly I did no "homework" on the draft this year. Now having taken in some content, Williams' ease in handling the ball gives me some hope he can become a positive in an offense, particularly if he can at least improve his FT shooting. He also will need to be self-aware of his status in the good shot pecking order. He was able to attack the space when defenders slacked off on him in the half court in college. Being able to do so at the pro level to at least engage that defender (then make a good decision) better allows a niche for him.

The rebounding and rim protection potential are the primary drawing cards. As you mention the toughness (and fight) is there. His shot block attempts are super left hand challenge dominant.

At the very least, this is the type of prospect you want to have in one of your 2-way slots and see what you can do with a year of full-time development.