Welcome to Boston (and Maine), Amari Williams!

[phincsfan]

I don't see the importance of age unless it's a top 3-5 pick. Outside of those guys I would like 4 solid years from anybody from any draft slot. If you get those solid 4 years then you extend him at what 26, 27 or 28? You get his prime years then.

If my team is drafting 1,2 or 3 I'm obviously looking for that generational organization changer. 10+ years and a couple of max contracts in that PERFECT world.

If you get lucky and get that 19 year phenom that everybody else passed on then you hit the jackpot.

I'm over passing on Bogo, so if this Brit can jump in feet first and contribute and get better each year he'll be a building block or a nice trade asset.

It all depends on if Joe starts to "like rookies" and gives them a chance.

[Hal14]

Wasn't Pritchard 23 as well?

That turned out horrible.

He was 22 when drafted.

Obviously there's quite a few 22/23 yr old prospects who went on to have good NBA careers. I never said otherwise.

You're taking my comment out of context though. I've said lots of positive things about Amari in this (and other) threads. I've pointed out the pros and I've pointed out the cons. Being an old prospect is simply one of the cons with Amari. It is what it is. Does that mean he will fail? No, I didn't say that.

Do all older prospects fail? No, I didn't say that. But 23 is old for a prospect and generally, the young the prospect is, the better. This is common knowledge.

Especially when it comes to bigs. If we think about the age 22+ prospects who have done really well..guys like Pritchard, Hauser, Herb Jones, Caruso, Vanvleet, Caleb Martin, Malcolm Brogdon, Buddy Hield, Duncan Robinson, etc. they're pretty much all guards/wings. Pretty much all of the top bigs in the league were 20 or under when drafted or *maybe* 21. It is what it is.

Come on, Hal. The guy's from the UK. Didn't pick up basketball until he grew embarrassingly tall. And more players are staying in college for paydays now that it's legal, so the old "only the good draft young" is no longer necessarily operative.

He started playing basketball at age 9:

https://drexeldragons.com/news/2020/9/7/mens-basketball-getting-to-know-the-incoming-dragons-amari-williams?utm_source=chatgpt.com

[cloverleaf]

He was 22 when drafted.

Obviously there's quite a few 22/23 yr old prospects who went on to have good NBA careers. I never said otherwise.

You're taking my comment out of context though. I've said lots of positive things about Amari in this (and other) threads. I've pointed out the pros and I've pointed out the cons. Being an old prospect is simply one of the cons with Amari. It is what it is. Does that mean he will fail? No, I didn't say that.

Do all older prospects fail? No, I didn't say that. But 23 is old for a prospect and generally, the young the prospect is, the better. This is common knowledge.

Especially when it comes to bigs. If we think about the age 22+ prospects who have done really well..guys like Pritchard, Hauser, Herb Jones, Caruso, Vanvleet, Caleb Martin, Malcolm Brogdon, Buddy Hield, Duncan Robinson, etc. they're pretty much all guards/wings. Pretty much all of the top bigs in the league were 20 or under when drafted or *maybe* 21. It is what it is.

Come on, Hal. The guy's from the UK. Didn't pick up basketball until he grew embarrassingly tall. And more players are staying in college for paydays now that it's legal, so the old "only the good draft young" is no longer necessarily operative.

He started playing basketball at age 9:

https://drexeldragons.com/news/2020/9/7/mens-basketball-getting-to-know-the-incoming-dragons-amari-williams?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Maybe he first held a basketball then and wanted to make it sound good going to college, but he has elsewhere said he liked better and played soccer until he grew really tall.

[Hal14]

Good stuff..long vid but worth the watch:

Watch on YouTube

[darrendaye]

Good stuff..long vid but worth the watch:

Watch on YouTube

He glosses over some of the mental errors in the video, but it's helpful to see extended action.

Was going to wait on this until SL play discussion, but, he doesn't look 260+ to me. IMHO he needs to add a some strength and do wonder if they can tap into more explosiveness through training at his age. That said, he's interesting enough for me. Honestly, he should buddy up with Garza to get those push shots down.

[Fencer reregistered]

Not a lot of NBA players were both born and raised in the UK. John Amaechi wasn't born there. OG Anunoby and Ben Gordon weren't raised there. Etc.

[Hal14]

Read on Twitter

[Gant]

Good insight into Amari Williams, from an article by Bobby Krivitisky.

Celtics’ Amari Williams Leaves Lasting Legacy With Kentucky’s Mark Pope

"He was such an elite-level guy," voiced Pope. "In fact, he saved us. We spent the last two months of the season without our starting point guard, our backup point guard, and our third-string point guard, who was our starting two. We lost all of them. And so Amari had this massive burden of kind of righting the ship. We saved ourselves by putting the ball in his hands.

"He was breaking the press off the bounce. He was leading the break off the bounce. We could use him as a pressure release to get the ball out of somebody else’s hands early in a possession, so we could be settled with him starting the play. I can’t overstate the importance of the impact that he had on our season."

That ability to grab a rebound and push the ball up the floor, or initiate a transition attack, matters more than ever. The game now operates at a breakneck pace. Williams's new team, the Celtics, is determined to play at a faster tempo with greater regularity.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/bobbykrivitsk/2025/07/15/celtics-amari-williams-leaves-lasting-legacy-with-kentuckys-mark-pope/

[hugepatsfan]

I'm still kind of concerned that the only thing people seem to say good about him is his passing/ball handling. Doesn't seem like anyone really says anything overly positive about the rest of his game, and as a 2nd round pick, I'm not sure that bringing the ball up the floor and having the ball in his hands to pass it are things he's going to be given opportunity to do. NBA teams don't typically run their offense through role players, so for his game to translate as he plays it he probably has to become a real draft steal. Passing big man isn't exactly a role player type of skill set.

[redslastlaugh]

His rebounding is elite as well. In conference, his DRB% was 31.4 for his career.
Domas Sabonis led the NBA in rebounding last year, and over his two yrs in college at Zaga his conference play DRB% was 31.5%

Earlier in the season, his (Amari's) per minute pts+ast+reb was top five in the history of the SEC
https://247sports.com/college/kentucky/article/amari-williams-kentucky-wildcats-production--245948414/

I'm still kind of concerned that the only thing people seem to say good about him is his passing/ball handling. Doesn't seem like anyone really says anything overly positive about the rest of his game, and as a 2nd round pick, I'm not sure that bringing the ball up the floor and having the ball in his hands to pass it are things he's going to be given opportunity to do. NBA teams don't typically run their offense through role players, so for his game to translate as he plays it he probably has to become a real draft steal. Passing big man isn't exactly a role player type of skill set.

[darrendaye]

Good insight into Amari Williams, from an article by Bobby Krivitisky.

Celtics’ Amari Williams Leaves Lasting Legacy With Kentucky’s Mark Pope

"He was such an elite-level guy," voiced Pope. "In fact, he saved us. We spent the last two months of the season without our starting point guard, our backup point guard, and our third-string point guard, who was our starting two. We lost all of them. And so Amari had this massive burden of kind of righting the ship. We saved ourselves by putting the ball in his hands.

"He was breaking the press off the bounce. He was leading the break off the bounce. We could use him as a pressure release to get the ball out of somebody else’s hands early in a possession, so we could be settled with him starting the play. I can’t overstate the importance of the impact that he had on our season."

That ability to grab a rebound and push the ball up the floor, or initiate a transition attack, matters more than ever. The game now operates at a breakneck pace. Williams's new team, the Celtics, is determined to play at a faster tempo with greater regularity.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/bobbykrivitsk/2025/07/15/celtics-amari-williams-leaves-lasting-legacy-with-kentuckys-mark-pope/

Hopefully being around Garza will pay dividends. Personally, I'd put their lockers together.

[Shak_Celts]

I’m riding til the wheels fall off on all my guys, jd and Walsh still have a supporter in me, but this is my biggest boat! Thought Walsh might be KL (loads of joking), but I’m ten toes on Amari with Hal! I’m not arguing with anybody this go round, partially because I’m not trying to convince folks or myself. I’m in like Flynn! This is my guy, it’s hard to tell b/c I went in for Walsh and JD when they had no fans (few), but more than any 2nd round pick for us I’m on this train!!

Hal, I’m not going to argue with them a lot about Amari, but I’m always on your side on this! I’ll debate a little, because it’s fun and that’s mostly what we’re here for, but I have plenty of players to argue for, Amari will show them on his own!

Wash all that you know about all my binkies before him, this is THE ONE!! No bets, little debate, and no Nostradamus, simple and plain ol faith that he’s going to be a good player eventually!

I like all Celtics young guys though, even the ones who are 26-ish, I like to get behind the unknown and underestimated. Look for me to exaggerate any good by Minott, Garza, Queta, Simons (maybe), Rico, Walsh, JD, Hugo, Pritch, Hauser, Norris and even Shulga!

I’m waiting for real minutes, Joe better not ration! Play EVERYBODY! He better play at least 10 guys a night, all season, if someone stinks a few games in a row, try someone else! Time to experiment! I want him to find a diamond in the rough this season! Need a couple of these cheap guys to blossom!! PLAY EVERYBODY!! Sure, some will get that in Maine, but if you keep a young guy up, PLAY HIM!! Nobody needs 40 minutes a night, IDC!! An example, he better not play X just because he doesn’t like playing young guys/rookies! I know X is young, give him another shot if he’s healthy, I just don’t want him getting minutes because he’s been here a few seasons and Joe likes him! Same with any player who has been here, it can’t be like last season where you only play the guys you trust! EXPERIMENT A LOT!!


Some of this rant should be in the offseason thread, but this will have to do!

[ParticleMan]

Good insight into Amari Williams, from an article by Bobby Krivitisky.

Celtics’ Amari Williams Leaves Lasting Legacy With Kentucky’s Mark Pope

"He was such an elite-level guy," voiced Pope. "In fact, he saved us. We spent the last two months of the season without our starting point guard, our backup point guard, and our third-string point guard, who was our starting two. We lost all of them. And so Amari had this massive burden of kind of righting the ship. We saved ourselves by putting the ball in his hands.

"He was breaking the press off the bounce. He was leading the break off the bounce. We could use him as a pressure release to get the ball out of somebody else’s hands early in a possession, so we could be settled with him starting the play. I can’t overstate the importance of the impact that he had on our season."

That ability to grab a rebound and push the ball up the floor, or initiate a transition attack, matters more than ever. The game now operates at a breakneck pace. Williams's new team, the Celtics, is determined to play at a faster tempo with greater regularity.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/bobbykrivitsk/2025/07/15/celtics-amari-williams-leaves-lasting-legacy-with-kentuckys-mark-pope/

Hopefully being around Garza will pay dividends. Personally, I'd put their lockers together.

and with any luck over time they will slowly fuse into one actual NBA player.

[Hal14]

Looks like Amari is over in England, where he's from:

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Perhaps when he's done his trip and returns to the states, he will come to Boston and sign his contract with us..

[phincsfan]

Looks like Amari is over in England, where he's from:

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Perhaps when he's done his trip and returns to the states, he will come to Boston and sign his contract with us..

Funky form and release

[31to6]

I know he's not here for his shooting form, but did he grow up watching Michael Kidd-Gilchrist videos?

[djFan71]

I know he's not here for his shooting form, but did he grow up watching Michael Kidd-Gilchrist videos?

I'd still sign MKG! I wonder if we can dump Simons and get him for a vet min. I believe! I BELIEVVVVVVVVVVE!!!!!!!!

[Shak_Celts]

I know he's not here for his shooting form, but did he grow up watching Michael Kidd-Gilchrist videos?

Just UGH A LEE! Shot could be entered and win best in show for ugliest form! Terrible!! They let him shoot like that and didn’t try and fix it? Traaaaaashhh coaching! No wonder he can’t shoot! He’s 25 and they let him get there with that shot! They let him down!

[31to6]

I know he's not here for his shooting form, but did he grow up watching Michael Kidd-Gilchrist videos?

Just UGH A LEE! Shot could be entered and win best in show for ugliest form! Terrible!! They let him shoot like that and didn’t try and fix it? Traaaaaashhh coaching! No wonder he can’t shoot! He’s 25 and they let him get there with that shot! They let him down!

it's ugly but he doesn't seem to be a bad FT shooter so that's checkpoint #1 for a big.
checkpoint #2 is could he ever become a shooter from the perimeter and I think that's where it's 'with that form? no' but you and I will love and believe in him for other reasons for now.

[Hal14]

If he ends up being a shooter, consider it a bonus - icing on the cake.

I wouldn't expect it, though.

The hope is that long term he can be a solid rebounder, neutral defensively - more of a drop big..who can sometimes switch a little bit on the perimeter if need be..give you some decent rim protection.

And offensively if things break right he could be a really good passing hub..hitting cutters, running DHO, orchestrating the offense from up top, creating lots of easy baskets with his passing. And if defenses sag off him too much, assuming he will pass (or hand it off) he has the face up game, handle, moves and strength to attack off the dribble, go to rim and get a bucket - or dish to open man if the defense collapses on his drive.

And he gives us another ball handler. Definitely a nice weapon to have if your 5 can handle the ball like a guard.