Boston Celtics player No. 1) Grant Williams
Sometimes, a player playing themselves onto the trading block is not indicative of anything negative at all.
Instead, an individual talent could actually be outperforming initial expectations which, to spectators, could be viewed as a tremendous luxury to have on the team moving forward while, for the front office, it could be an incentive to look into trading high on the player.
Grant Williams could be one of these sell-high examples, as he’s been a rather inconsistent producer throughout his tenure with the franchise and now, through the first five games of action, has found himself getting off to a hot start.
In 22.6 minutes per game, the undersized power forward finds himself serving as a trusty marksman out on the perimeter, shooting at an impressive clip of 55.6 percent from beyond the arc on 3.6 attempts a night.
Along with this, Williams is also boasting a stat line of 10.6 points, two rebounds, and nearly assists per game.
To some, this looks to be a turning point in the career of the third-year pro, as he’s producing as one of Boston’s most reliable offensive weapons outside of the likes of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown which, over the past couple of years, has been a real Achilles heel for the ball club.
On the other hand, the C’s decision-makers could very well believe that this is still the same player they haven’t been sold on as being a long-term option.
That said, it’s undeniable that his play through these first few outings has been impressive, which is why they could be even more inclined to look into trading him away, for it’s very possible that his value will never be as high as it currently is.
Now, are we suggesting that Grant Williams could be the centerpiece in a blockbuster trade at some point this year? Absolutely not!
However, perhaps he could be a sound complementary addition in a smaller yet still impactful deal like one for, say, San Antonio Spurs big man, Thaddeus Young.
In this hypothetical, the allure of bringing on a much-improved shooting forward still just 23 and on his rookie-scale contract could actually save Boston some draft capital, and could even bring them a second-rounder on top of things if they play their cards right.
This is just one of a few potential sell-high scenarios that could wind up benefiting the Cs and, because of this, we believe Williams could be a player to look out for on the trade rumor mill this year.