Robert Williams needs to be careful that he does not let expectations with the Boston Celtics hurt him
When the Boston Celtics went into this draft only having the 27th pick, very few were thinking they would come out with a real impact player in their rookie season. It was thought that the Celtics would have to make a trade to get a day one contributor, because it is unrealistic to expect a rookie outside of the lottery to have an impact on a contending team.
The moment Robert Williams was drafted, something felt different. A lot of people projected him to go in the lottery, and his remarkable athleticism gave people the sense that he can have an impact as a rookie.
When you add on the lack of front court depth and impact he can have on the interior, and a lot of people are now thinking that Williams will have an impact.
There is no doubt that he will get his opportunity to prove he is ready, but these kind of expectations could end up hurting Williams in a lot of ways. It also does not help that rookies have been so successful with the Celtics.
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Both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown had great impacts as rookies, but they were taken in the lottery and were on teams with much less talent than this.
Williams is not the same level of prospect that they were, and they did not have as many players ahead of them, taking away all the minutes.
Right now, Williams is still very raw. People may think that he should be able to have an impact on day one, but that should not be expected of him. At the beginning, it will take a lot of time for Williams to get really comfortable.
The Celtics are not going to disrupt anything significant for Williams, and that means he will have to make sure Brad Stevens can trust him in any way that he wants to use him. For a rookie with enough question marks to make him fall to the end of the first round, it is far fetched to think he will be able to come in and have that impact on a contending team.
Right now, Williams needs to be focused on the development. If the expectations are that he comes in and has a great rookie season on the court for a championship contending team, everyone is going to be disappointed.
Williams will be pressing to try and have that impact, and then the mistakes start coming. Once he begins making mistakes, trust will be lost and then the minutes will be given to someone else.
The Celtics are no longer at a point where they can let their young players fight through rookie struggles, because they now need to be held to the highest standard.
No matter what he does, Williams needs to be given time. He can be a valuable and unique piece of this team, but only if he gets the proper opportunity to grow and develop.
Right now, it is unfair to expect any rookie to have an impact on the Celtics, and Williams’ momentum continues to grow. As long as he stays focused on what Stevens needs for him, and realizes that this is just the beginning, he can have a great career here.
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If, however, he presses to have too big of an impact and becomes disgruntled without getting the kind of role all the expectations are suggesting he should have, then Williams may never have the real kind of impact everyone is hoping he can have right now.