ESPN: Grant Williams 'Yapping,' Lack of Conditioning Led to Mavs Trade
The Dallas Mavericks made two big trades before this season's deadline, swapping Richaun Holmes and a pick for Daniel Gafford with the Washington Wizards, and then sending Grant Williams, Seth Curry and a pick to the Charlotte Hornets for P.J. Washington. The latter move had more of a plot twist to it, given that Dallas had just made a big financial commitment to Williams less than nine months ago.
On the latest episode of Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective, ESPN's Tim MacMahon provided some insight on why the Mavs decided to move on from Williams via trade less than a full season after signing him to a four-year, $53 million deal last summer.
"I would say one of the ways that Grant Williams rubbed people the wrong way, the yap, yap, yapping, obviously, that's kind of part of it with him," MacMahon said.
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"Which it's charmingly obnoxious if he's productive, and it's grating when he's not, but he didn't report in good shape, and Grant Williams not in good shape is not a good defender. Grant Williams has proven throughout the course of his career, when he gets in shape he can be an impactful defender, but that's not the guy that the Mavericks got."
Although there was no direct mention of Luka Doncic or the Mavs, many fans speculated that Williams might have been taking shots at his former team after the Hornets won their first game with him on the squad.
“It’s great to get a win for the city and play for the jersey that’s across your chest, not on your back. Everybody touched the ball, we trusted one another," Williams said.
Now, obviously there's a chance that Williams didn't intend for that statement to be taken as shade being thrown at Doncic or the Mavs, but given his swift exit from Dallas, you can't blame people for wondering if it was intentional or not.
As things currently stand, it looks like the trade was a good one for both the Mavs and the Hornets, as both teams are 2-0 since the deadline deal with all Williams, Curry and Washington making positive impacts. Hopefully both sides can move on with peace of mind going forward.
