Cary Edmondson-US PRESSWIRE
BOSTON- The NBA Rumors mill is again sporting a Boston Celtics flavor. The latest NBA rumors have the Celtics coveting free agent small forward Terrance Williams. This rumor is very likely to be true due to many factors.
The fact is the Celtics are in the market for a small forward. Paul Pierce is the starter and Jeff Green will be the primary back up at the position. The problem for the Celtics is after those two only rookie Kris Joseph is on the roster. The fact Joseph is the only other guy on the roster means that if either Pierce or Green go down for any time with injury, the Celtics would be forced to use an untested rookie for serious minutes or play a man like Brandon Bass or one of the shooting guards out of position giving Boston matchup problems. This lack of depth gives the kind of situations championship teams want to avoid.
The NBA season is long and the fact is injuries are going to occur, but both Celtic small forwards are even more likely than most to get injured or need some rest. Pierce is not getting any younger. Last season Pierce’s body broke down come playoff time and the Celtics were done without their best scorer capable of giving them a needed offensive punch. Pierce is a year older than last year and his body is not going to recover from nagging injuries as fast as it did a few seasons ago.
Although Green is relatively young, the young forward is coming off heart surgery last season. Who knows if Green will need a breather here and there to keep his body in tip top shape after missing an entire NBA campaign. Even if Green does not need a breather due to injury, the Celtics should rest him in order to have a productive scorer off the bench for the playoff drive.
Terrance Williams would be the perfect fit and I believe Celtics President Danny Ainge knows this fact. Williams is a young veteran player that has proven that he can come off the bench and provide a team with athletic and energetic play. Williams moves well without the ball and is very athletic. These attributes would make Williams a great compliment for point guard Rajon Rondo. IrF WIlliams gets open, then the human assist machine that is Rondo will find him for easy scores.
Defensively Williams has a lot of energy. Williams also has solid length to bother shots. I am quite sure Doc Rivers could utilize him in a variety of situations throughout the season with guys like LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony playing small forward in the East.
I know Williams has not been able to put his game together entirely. Williams jump shot is erratic at times. Despite solid length defensively, Williams gets burned or commits dumb fouls far too often. Williams has shown flashes in his three years, but his play hardly makes the New Jersey Nets look brilliant for drafting him eleventh overall.
However, Williams has also been on lousy teams. The Nets are awful and lacked solid coaching. The Houston Rockets were not much better in either of those departments. I am not even going to attempt to get into the abyss of the Sacramento Kings that Williams has been sucked into this past NBA season. If Williams came to Boston, he would be coached by a real coaching staff with a group of veteran winners. The point is maybe the young Williams finally taps into his potential with a winning environment.
The winning environment and limited free agent options might make Williams jump at the chance to come to Boston. The 25 year old would get a chance to learn and grow in Boston with this great coaching staff and veteran core. If Williams signs a short term deal and flourishes than he could earn a larger contract then the veteran minimum or bi level exception Boston has at their disposal once the contract ends. Stay tuned for more on this rumor as more information comes out. Remember Go Green or Go Home!!!!!
