Celtics rookie center Robert Williams has another medical issue

Robert Williams has struggled to get himself on the right track since being drafted, and a medical issue is now in play.

After being considered a potential late lottery pick in June’s draft, Robert Williams was drafted by the Boston Celtics at No. 27 overall. He then overslept and missed the start of a conference call to announce him the next morning, and then he was late to report to the Celtics’ summer league team after missing a flight.

Williams has most recently missed a summer league game with a left knee injury, and there’s a chance he doesn’t suit up again in Las Vegas. But another medical issue is now out there regarding the rookie big man.

According to Fred Katz of MassLive, Williams has a “not too serious” artery issue in both of his legs. The Celtics and other NBA teams were aware of it during the pre-draft process, as was Texas A&M, but if it gets worse down the road Williams could need surgery.

Popliteal artery entrapment syndrome, or PAES, is found most often in athletes. The position of the muscles and tendons around Williams knees compress against the popliteal artery, the primary artery located behind the knee, thus restricting blood flow to the lower leg and causing cramping and calf pain during exercise.

Classifying anything that deals with arteries and blood flow as “not too serious” seems like a vast underestimation. But Katz reported the Los Angeles Clippers put Williams through a pre-draft physical, and passed the results on to other organizations by request, and the Celtics have done their own physicals on him.

Next: NBA Free Agency 2018: 5 landing spots for Jabari Parker

With Al Horford and Aron Baynes in line to take most of the minutes at center for Boston, anything Williams is able to contribute as a rookie will be regarded as a bonus. But his NBA career is not off to a promising start.