The Dallas Mavericks acquired Grant Williams from the Boston Celtics in a sign-and-trade deal first reported on July 6, giving the forward a four-year, $54 million deal to move south.
Williams attended the team’s summer league games in Las Vegas over the weekend and spoke to the media about joining the Mavericks.
“I definitely feel a little bit more comfortable speaking up and having a good dialogue, especially with the experience now,” Williams began. “I’m definitely still listening because, unfortunately, we’ve been to the Finals and stuff like that, but we didn’t win it.”
Williams spent the last four years with Boston, becoming a versatile defender and flashing scoring ability from the perimeter as the Celtics developed into one of the premier teams in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics reached the conference finals three times and lost the 2022 NBA title to Golden State Warriors.
At just 24, the former University of Tennessee standout is one of the younger players on the roster, yet has more playoff experience than many who will return for the 2023-24 season. While he embraces the chance to be a leader, he acknowledges he still has room to grow and improve with All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving, 31, on the roster.
“I have a lot to learn from Kyrie and them — [from] what they did [during] that run in 2016 when they won it,” he added. “Being able to just be a listening ear but being able to give perspective on where I’ve been and what I’ve accomplished.”
Rookies Dereck Lively II and Olivier-Maxence Prosper are among the players who have impressed Williams, and he is excited to play alongside them and help them grow.
“They play with great energy,” Williams explained. “…Even just the conversations we’ve had, the way they’re willing to listen, the way they’re really trying to get better — not just for their own personal growth but for the team’s growth — is something you admire because [with] rookies, you never know what you’ll get.”
While it was the first time Williams had spoken to the Dallas media about joining the team, he previously voiced his frustration with how things ended for him in Boston, which included a decreased role and a trade involving former Maverick Kristaps Porzingis.
“I kind of had perspective,” he told the Boston Globe. “Even after the season and before the Kristaps trade, I had some understanding of what I was trying to accomplish in free agency, and where I saw myself moving forward.”
That step forward ended up being a move to Dallas, where he can make a name for himself by providing the menacing, versatile defense and complementary scoring touch that eluded the team down the stretch last season.
“It’s a franchise you’ve always heard great things about,” he told the Athletic about the Mavericks. “I remember watching Dirk Nowitzki play for the Mavs and how impactful he was for the city was a beautiful thing. I’m excited to go to a new city, to embrace the new culture and fans. Just enjoy the moment.”
Williams admitted he grew frustrated with the league’s restricted free agency process, primarily due to how it changes teams’ plans and impacts the options available to the players.
“Restricted free agency is terrible,” he told the media on Friday. “Unrestricted, you have a good understanding of where to go. With restricted, you’re pretty much in a waiting game. You have the offers that are available to you, [and] you understand what they are, but also, you have to understand that those offers are available to you. You might get those, or a team might match them, or a team might be asking for more than what other teams are necessarily willing to give. ”
“Teams have a way big idea or perspective, and then they get the guys they sign, and it changes their plan,” he continued. “I still think free agency’s a little bit both fun but nerve-racking a little bit because you want to know where you’re going and what’s happening.”
With the completion of the trade, the dust has settled, and Williams joins a talented group trying to return the franchise to contention in the NBA’s Western Conference.