On Friday, Grant Williams’s whirlwind first few days at his new house came to an abrupt end.
Williams was one of the few players from Charlotte who objected when Golden State guard Lester Quinones attempted a layup with roughly 12 seconds remaining in the Hornets’ 97-84 loss to the Warriors. Miles Bridges, a player for the Hornets, goaltended Quinones’s shot before pushing him.
Williams intervened, confronting Quinones face-to-face as teammates hurried up to him and Bridges. A few seconds after going head-to-head, the two players started yelling at one another. Due to the altercation, Williams and Quinones were removed from the game.
Williams’ response to Quinones’ layup drew criticism from Draymond Green, who spent more than three minutes attacking the former Celtics player because he thought Williams’ outrage was “kind of like a sore loser type thing.”
Miles is my little brother and my guy, so I won’t sit here and pick on him. “Miles has no power over me,” Green said to reporters. However, Grant Williams needs to stop it, dude. He can’t maintain his tough guy persona forever. He is having the worst time of it. He seems like a genuinely lovely guy, but for some reason, he always tries to come across as unlikeable, and let me tell you, it’s not always enjoyable around here. It’s not always a good time. I don’t know, man, he need to figure it out.”
Green persisted in his inquiry as to why Williams had been acting in this manner this season, bringing up a rumour that the Mavericks had traded him because of his “yapping.” Additionally, he thinks that Williams, as the Players’ Association’s lead vice president, shouldn’t have behaved in that manner on Friday.
“Talking excessively can drive you out of Dallas; he’s talking too much over there these days,” Green remarked. Therefore, you might want to cut back on your tough guy behaviour and slow down. You want to be the [Players Association] president and all that kind of stuff, dude. You are not allowed to be out here doing all of that.
“Man, I have no idea what Grant Williams is doing out here,” said Green. He was having a lot of trouble with everyone this year, so when he approached our bench, he believed he was going to make a new buddy. There are no buddies for you here, my man; you should go talk to your guys down there. You are not permitted to visit us and discuss the recent events involving our players. Like, we’re behind [Quinones].
Williams was not afraid to take on opponents throughout his four seasons with the Celtics. He actually went up against Green in the third game of the 2022 NBA Finals, giving the Warriors the finger when they got tangled up in a play. In Game 2 of the series, Green further denigrated Williams by telling him, “You’re not me.” The former Celtics forward claimed he looked up to the Warriors star and said, “You want to be me.”
By the end of that series, though, the two sides seem friendly as they embrace following the Warriors’ victory that secures the championship. Williams further said that Green assured him that he will return with the Celtics at some point.
It seems that the two have lost their friendly relationship. Green’s tirade after the game finished on. “Pray for Grant Williams.”