Jayson Tatum has responded to reports that former Celtics forward Grant Williams was a “bad locker room guy”.

“He was annoying to everybody,” Gorman replied. “I think he — I think initially, everybody thought, ‘Oh, isn’t he kind of a wise a–, but he’s kind of cute, and he’s kinda funny.’ And then it just kinda wore thin, and it got thin quickly in Dallas obviously. If you start to take on [Luka] Doncic, you’re not gonna be around for long. So, yeah, he had some issues in that area that if he doesn’t get rid of — he’s not good enough to have teams say, ‘Well, okay, but despite that, we’re gonna keep him here ’cause he’s a great player.’ He’s not — he’s an extra. He’s an eighth, ninth, 10th guy on your roster, so those guys are very replaceable, especially if you get a guy that’s a bad locker room guy. If you’re a bad locker room guy and you’re the eighth or ninth guy, you’re not gonna be the eighth or ninth guy for long because you’re not gonna be on the team for long.”

Tatum responded to the comment with a post on his Twitter/X page saying, “Grant Williams= Great teammate!”

Jayson Tatum has direct experience, having played alongside Williams for four seasons after the former Celtic forward was selected by the team in 2019. Williams had a significant role in the team’s 2022 playoff run, which led to an appearance in the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors. He left the organisation in 2023 in a sign-and-trade to the and was recently traded to the Hornets in a deal that included Dallas’ P.J. Washington.

Grant Williams, the Mavericks’ general manager

In February, Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison addressed the rumours that Williams was a lousy teammate, which led to his later trade to the Hornets.

“Grant doesn’t deserve the negativity he’s getting on social media… He was a good teammate,” Harrison said in a conversation with NBA Insider Marc Stein.

Harrison noted that the roster required a small shakeup after a volatile season. Williams had decent stats, averaging 8.1 points and 3.6 rebounds in 47 games. However, replacing him with someone like P.J. Washington, who averages 13 points and 5.5 rebounds, is a wise decision.

“When you’re not playing up the expectations you had coming into the season, then you have to make those types of changes.”