Boston Celtics forward Grant Williams is entering the final year of his rookie contract. At the end of the 2022-23 NBA season will become a restricted free agent, meaning that he can sign with another team, but Boston will have to opportunity to match the offer. It doesn’t have to get to that stage though.
The Celtics have the option to extend their 23-year-old forward this summer. The team will have to reach an agreement with Williams by Oct. 17.
There are plenty of reasons to extend the Tennessee alumni. During his time with the Cs, he’s proven himself to be a valuable piece and an important part of the team’s success. Letting him test free agency could cost Boston in more ways than one.
Reason No. 1 the Boston Celtics should extend Grant Williams: No viable way to replace him in free agency
The first reason has everything to do with cost. By letting Grant test free agency, Boston runs the risk that some team that is looking to become relevant or make a splash (I don’t know, maybe the New York Knicks) comes in and makes a steep offer. If that’s the case and the Celtics decide to match, then they would’ve costed themselves extra money and more importantly would have less cap flexibility.
A prime example of why it’s a good financial decision to extend ahead of time is Robert Williams III. The Celtics extended Timelord for four years last summer. After a monster 2021-22 campaign where he earned Second Team All-Defensive honors, Williams’ contract is looking like it may be the most valuable in the league. He is set to make an average of just $12 million per season. Had the Cs waited until after this season to negotiate with Timelord, they’d likely be paying him at least double the salary.
Boston would get themselves a discount for sure if they extended Grant Williams this offseason. They could likely pay him a similar amount to his namesake and have both sides be satisfied.
Reason No. 2 the Boston Celtics should extend Grant Williams: Improvement year to year
Prior to last season, the argument could’ve been made that Grant Williams shouldn’t have been part of the future for the Boston Celtics. He was coming off a disappointing sophomore year where he averaged just below five points and three rebounds in 63 regular season games. His growth over the course of the following year was encouraging for sure, and put that argument to bed.
Williams wasn’t an all-star or anything in his third season, but definitely showed why he should be a part of the team’s future. He made significant strides in terms of his 3-point shooting. Grant shot the 3-ball at a 41% clip, which was good enough to be amongst the league’s top 20 in the category. With Boston’s offense primarily running through Jayson Tatum, having Williams as a reliable shooter makes things run smoother. Defenders can’t overhelp off of the former 22nd overall pick because of how consistent he has become.
Shooting wasn’t the only category where Celtics fans watched Williams bring the heat last season. His defense really opened the eyes of many over the course of the 2022-23 campaign. Grant’s productivity on the defensive end, like most aspects of his game, took a hit during the season prior. He had put on extra weight to try and be effective as a small-ball center, which wound up hurting his mobility. Grant dropped the weight and showed that he could be a versatile defender.
Essentially, over the course of a single season, Williams has morphed into the ideal NBA 3-and-D role player.
Reason No. 3 the Boston Celtics should extend Grant Williams: He rises to the occasion in big moments
The final glaring reason why the Boston Celtics should be confident extending Grant Williams is that he showed that he can play well in the big moments. Now, you may be saying, “Sam, Grant Williams disappeared in the last two rounds of the playoffs.” That’s a fair argument, but regardless of how consistent he was in the later rounds, he was a key contributor in important moments, helping Boston to even get that far.
The obvious one to point to is Game 7 against the Milwaukee Bucks. Williams scored a game high 27 points, making seven 3-pointers in the process. Think about that, Grant Williams had a game high in a Game 7 where both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jayson Tatum played.
Prior to that game, Williams was a key piece of Boston’s early success. In the first round sweep of the Brooklyn Nets, the forward averaged 11 points and shooting 50% from deep in the process. Against the Bucks, he was about the same, putting up just under 11 points in each game, shooting 38% from behind the arc.
Just like the regular season, Grant brought it on the defensive end. He saw significant time defending two of the best players on the planet in Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo. The story of that first round series against Brooklyn really was how poorly Durant played and Williams was a big part of that. There was one play in particular in Game 2, where KD dribbled the ball off of his found while being guarded by Grant.
As Boston looks primed for an extended period of success, there should be no doubt that Grant Williams is a part of the future for the Celtics. Extending him prior to the season would lock a valuable piece up at a discounted price.