Celtics close to signing Sean Williams
According to ESPN Boston, the Celtics are close to signing center Sean Williams. They will officially waive Jermaine O'Neal to make room for Williams. And the Jermaine O'Neal era in Boston is (finally) over. The former Boston College player was waived by the Mavericks in March as the Mavs needed a wing more than they did a 4th center. Since he was waived before the March 23 deadline, he will be eligible to play in the playoffs. However, with not much time to get acclimated with the Celtics' system, he probably won't see a lot of time unless there is some drastic foul trouble.Williams, who is 6-foot-10 and weighs 235-pounds averaged 3.6 points and 1.6 rebounds in 8.1 minutes in eight games with the Mavericks this season. He averaged 15.2 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in 27 games for Dallas' D-League affiliate, the Texas Legends.
Williams has had some off court problems, including some problems with marijuana use and was dismissed from the Boston College after a couple of suspensions. He was also arrested for disorderly conduct in 2009 while he was with the Nets. Hopefully he has matured and all of that is behind him.
He has a huge upside if he can get his head straight. He is an athletic shot blocker and despite never playing an entire season for Boston College, he left the university as a leading shot blocker in the Big East and ACC during each of his Boston College seasons. If anyone can get through to him, it would be Kevin Garnett. This could pay dividends for the future as well as buying some rest for our bigs the rest of the way this season. Williams is expected to join the team in Atlanta and be available to play on Friday.
