Reunion with former fan-favorite is starting to make a lot of sense for the Celtics

Former Boston Celtics center Robert Williams III has been hooping for the Portland Trail Blazers in their opening pair of playoff games. 

The former All-Defensive big man is averaging 11.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game while shooting 76.9% from the field and 40.0% (2-5) from three.

Williams III was vital to Portland’s Game 2 victory over the San Antonio Spurs. He narrowly missed a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds. Two of those points came on an alley-oop slam to put the Blazers up three with 12 seconds to play.

Watching his performance against San Antonio thus far has made it clear that Rob can still impact winning.

He’s been largely effective in his minutes off the bench this season as a whole, but showing that he can still hang when the lights get bright is impressive. Not to mention that Time Lord played 59 games this year, his highest total since the 2021-22 season.

Adding Robert Williams III as a backup option could be a smart play for Boston

That, combined with his consistent output, is enough that Williams III should be a name the Celtics should look at in free agency this summer.

The discourse surrounding Boston’s frontcourt after their Game 2 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers would indicate that they could use some extra help down low. Adding Rob as a backup for Neemias Queta would be an intriguing play.

Williams has already played for Joe Mazzulla and alongside Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard. He’d come aboard with some understanding of how he can best fit back into a role with the Cs, and wouldn’t have to take on a huge bulk of minutes, which would theoretically be good for durability.

Whether or not Mazzulla and his staff would be interested is a different story, but the 28-year-old’s recently added three-point shot could make him a more versatile offensive fit, too. Plus, if injuries become a factor for Rob again, Luka Garza has already proven to be a viable rotation piece and is under contract through next seaosn.

Thanks to Boston’s salary-shedding trade deadline moves, they were able to dive below the league’s luxury tax threshold. As a result, they’ll have the entire non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which is projected to be worth roughly $15 million, available to them when the new league year begins on July 1.

Nikola Vucevic’s expiring $21 million contract enables them additional financial flexibility, too, to where they’d be able to spend the MLE without necessarily worrying about re-eclipsing the luxury tax threshold.

Williams III should fit right into that salary slot, should the Celtics decide to pursue him. There’s still plenty of important basketball to play this spring before these conversations happen, though.

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