The Boston Celtics are surprisingly fielding calls for impending restricted free agent Grant Williams — who is projected to get paid a pretty penny when he hits the market.
We’ve heard the talk of Wyc Grousbeck giving the green light for Brad Stevens to spend what it takes to get it done in 2023, and that all-hands-on-deck approach has seemingly drawn the defensively underwhelming (Kevin O’Connor’s words) fourth-year forward into the trade fray days ahead of the deadline.
It was The Ringer’s O’Connor who revealed intel indicating Williams’ availability.
The Boston Celtics may not be ready to pay Grant Williams
If the Boston Celtics are ready to move on from Williams as soon as this week, the obvious implication of Grousbeck’s all-in edict is that the franchise has reservations about adding highly-priced pieces if the team isn’t ready to win a championship.
As good as Boston has been, the Milwaukee Bucks are not far behind, and whoever comes out of the west figures to be war-hardened as well. It’s unfortunately a possibility that the Cs don’t raise Banner 18 due to the razor-thin margins the NBA postseason tends to be in the later rounds. That could stop them from bloating the payroll in the years to come.
The Boston Celtics could include Grant Williams in a bigger package
That Williams is available really speaks to the willingness to go all in. The most acceptable way to move off of Williams at this stage is to find someone who’d push for starters minutes in the frontcourt.
Combining his salary with Danilo Gallinari’s and Payton Pritchard’s has always been the path to a worthwhile difference-maker on a mid-level, or higher with the inclusion of more salary filler, cap figure. Given Pritchard’s surprising recent comments and this newly discovered Williams’ availability, it looks like that could be close to reality.
Surprising names could hit the trade market
It appears a super-blood wolf-moon is upon us with Kyrie Irving’s sudden trade demand and eventual deal re-shaping the league and Kevin Durant’s potentially next behind him. It’s not too likely the Cs will want to get back into the mix, if they were ever truly in it in the first place, for KD.
Let’s say they do, though. Malcolm Brogdon could be available to make the money work if Brooklyn still covets Jaylen Brown and is willing to stop asking about any other member of the C’s core according to this past offseason’s rumor mill. This all hinges on if the Nets will still demand the world for Durant and if KD ever does hit the market to begin with, of course.
With Grant Williams available, it’s not a stretch to imagine Brogdon being available to potentially give Pritchard the bigger role he’s asked for. All bets could be off on the Cs staying the same heading into the trade deadline.