It's no secret that former Tennessee Vols standout Grant Williams is a polarizing figure in the NBA.
Williams, who was traded to the Charlotte Hornets earlier this season after spending the first half of the season with the Dallas Mavericks, spent the first four seasons of his career with the Boston Celtics.
And apparently while in Boston, one of the people that Williams rubbed the wrong way was Celtics play-by-play announcer Mike Gorman.
Gorman recently joined 98.5 The Sports Hub and he threw some major shade at Williams.
"He was annoying," said Gorman when asked about Williams. "He was annoying to everybody. I think, initially, everyone kind of thought 'oh isn't he kind of a wise ass, but he's cute and he's kinda funny'. And then it just kind of wore thin....he has some issues in that area that if he doesn't get rid of -- he's not good enough to have teams say, 'ok but despite that we're going to keep him because he's a great player'. He's not. He's extra. He's the eighth, ninth, tenth guy on your roster. If you're a bad locker room guy, you're not going to be the eighth or ninth guy for long because you're not going to be on the team for long."
CONFIRMED by Mike Gorman: Grant Williams = very annoying pic.twitter.com/oXtX52BYk6
— Toucher & Hardy (@toucherandhardy) March 13, 2024
Ouch. Gorman has been on the job for a long time, so he's seen a lot during his time as NBA play-by-play announcer, but that still feels a bit harsh.
Williams has his moments on the court, but ultimately, he's just playing the game hard. He's playing with passion. And he does whatever he can to throw his opponents off their game. I don't see the issue. But apparently Gorman does. And the Celtics and the Mavericks did, too.
So far it seems to be going well for Williams in Charlotte. Maybe it'll prove to finally be the right situation for the former Vol.
Grant Williams as a Hornet:
— HornetsMuse (@hornetsmuse_) March 15, 2024
13.7 PPG
5.3 RPG
2.5 APG
48.6/35.4/80.0%
Balling in his hometown. pic.twitter.com/2dcRif9eFx
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