Jayson Tatum has chimed in on the claims that former Celtics forward Grant Willams was a “bad locker room guy”. The comments come after Mike Gorman joined 98.5 The Sports Hub's morning show Toucher & Hardy. Gorman, a play-by-play commentator for the Boston Celtics, didn't mince words when he was asked if Williams was “a huge pain in the a**”.

“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 firsthand experience, having played alongside Williams for four seasons following the former Celtic forward's selection by the team in 2019. Williams was a key role player in the team's 2022 playoff run that resulted in an appearance in the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors. He departed the team in 2023 in a sign-and-trade to the and was recently traded to the Hornets in a move that landed the Dallas P.J. Washington.

Mavericks GM’s Grant Williams take 

In February, Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison spoke on the rumors of Williams being a bad teammate and that leading to his subsequent trade to the Hornets.

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“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 stated that the roster needed a minor shakeup following a fluctuating season. Williams, with 8.1 points and 3.6 rebounds in 47 games, had decent stats. However, replacing him with someone like P.J. Washington, averaging 13 points and 5.5 rebounds, is a smart move.

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