Celtics Regular Season News

[Celtics2021]

Several teams sniffing around on Grant Williams' situation in Boston

Yet rumbles persist that various teams are monitoring the situation and curious about Williams’ future there. Williams is poised to become a restricted free agent this summer and said to be seeking a contract in the Keldon Johnson-in-San Antonio, $20-million-annually range. – via Marc Stein @ marcstein.substack.com

Yeah, I don't find Stein to be particularly plugged in anymore, but if some team is dumb enough to pay Grant $20 million per season happy trails to him.  We can replace most of his production easily enough, particularly with Muscula and Gallo.

Teams can't survive paying $20 million per season to guys who put up 8 points and 5 rebounds while playing good but not great defense.  He's been shooting below 40% from 3PT for about the last two months, as well, including 35.1% 3PT% since January 1.

Not sure if this is actual inside information or just conjecture by Stein but in any case, it sounds like it is probably accurate.  Grant Williams may well have asked for $20M thinking he was comparable to Keldon Johnson (which was probably an over pay in its own right).  Weren't the reports that the Celtics offered 4@$12.5M (about $50M total)?  Grant probably figures he can get at least that as a RFA and he probably will.  So why not test the market?

But I agree, if someone offers him much more than that, the smart move for the Celtics is to let him go, no matter what their overall  budget may or may not be.

On the other hand, Grant is a more important player than his box score reflects.  He is versatile, reliable, and durable.  A great combination for a bench player.  But he is also undersized for his position, and pretty one-dimensional on offense.  He probably should have taken the $50M.  There is a chance that he is not even offered that.  He might not see anything better than a tax payer MLE.

He’s delusional if he believes that. Johnson is a much better player. Grants been worse than he was last year, overall. Decent role player, but I don’t think he’s worth more than $10m annually.

Grant is playing decent minutes and no matter where he goes he will not be a top 2 option.  You could expect with more shots he can put up 13 and 6 with good D.  That is not a 20m type player.  At 20m you need to affect the game more then he does.  Look at Smart.  Is Grant as or more valuable then Smart?  Not even close.  With the way he's playing some idiot team may pay him 15m per year but I think he ends up at 10-12.  He's a good role player and nothing more.

Unfortunately for Grant, he is kind of stuck in never-never land.  He doesn't have enough upside for a bad team (who likely would have cap space) to spend money on but he is a good target for a contending team looking for some depth.  The problem is that the contending teams aren't going to have the cap space to offer to Grant.

The taxpayer MLE next season is only $7M.  Non-taxpayer MLE is $11M but if a team uses that, they essentially end up hard capped.  A contending team is not going to hard cap themselves for Grant Williams, I don't expect.  Teams with cap space can make offers to Grant but only after they renounce all of their own FAs who may have cap holds.  That ends up being a hard cap in essence also.

Like I said, Grant probably should have taken the $50M (if in fact that was offered).

Teams with likely more than $20 million in cap space:

Houston (where Grant was born)
San Antonio
Utah (Ainge drafted Grant)
Orlando
Charlotte (Grant went to high school in Charlotte)
OKC
Detroit
Indiana

Some of the above have over $40 million in cap space.  None of the big name free agents (Kyrie, Harden, Middleton) are likely to end up on any of those teams.  Will Grant get his $20 million?  Probably not.  Will Grant get more than the full MLE?  Certainly yes.  Are there non-contenders that Grant might have interest in for personal reasons?  Yeah, definitely.

I don't understand why a rebuilding / lower rung team would want to give a big chunk of its flexibility for a 7th or 8th man.  It doesn't mean it won't happen, but it would be a poor decision.  They're better off renting their cap space or saving it to re-sign their own players, rather than give up 10% - 15% of their cap to an undersized backup PF.

I mean, Grant ranks 164th in scoring out of 255 qualifying players.  He's 91st in rebounding.  He's 92nd in 3PTM.  And yet, he wants to be paid like a third starter.

Because he fits into any roster easily, and those teams are often times looking for role players to support their franchise players.  Why did Houston sign Daniel Theis to a four-year, $36 million deal, or whatever it was?  Why is Gary Harris getting $13 million a year from Orlando?  Why did Detroit give Olynyk $37 million over three years, and then trade him to Utah for Bogdanovich, whom they extended at another $20 million per year?  These deals happen all the time.

He’ll get paid by someone.  My guess is it will be with the C’s for $15-17 million a year, but there’s a chance someone goes high to keep the C’s from matching because of tax concerns.

[boscel33]

GWill looking for 20M per?  Pass!

RWill is sub-15M and he's more important to this team than GWill is.  If GWill takes a contract similar to RWill, yeah, re-sign but if he holds to 20M, bye bye!  Go out and get Oubre (or similar) for that money!

[Goldstar88]

Several teams sniffing around on Grant Williams' situation in Boston

Yet rumbles persist that various teams are monitoring the situation and curious about Williams’ future there. Williams is poised to become a restricted free agent this summer and said to be seeking a contract in the Keldon Johnson-in-San Antonio, $20-million-annually range. – via Marc Stein @ marcstein.substack.com

Yeah, I don't find Stein to be particularly plugged in anymore, but if some team is dumb enough to pay Grant $20 million per season happy trails to him.  We can replace most of his production easily enough, particularly with Muscula and Gallo.

Teams can't survive paying $20 million per season to guys who put up 8 points and 5 rebounds while playing good but not great defense.  He's been shooting below 40% from 3PT for about the last two months, as well, including 35.1% 3PT% since January 1.

Not sure if this is actual inside information or just conjecture by Stein but in any case, it sounds like it is probably accurate.  Grant Williams may well have asked for $20M thinking he was comparable to Keldon Johnson (which was probably an over pay in its own right).  Weren't the reports that the Celtics offered 4@$12.5M (about $50M total)?  Grant probably figures he can get at least that as a RFA and he probably will.  So why not test the market?

But I agree, if someone offers him much more than that, the smart move for the Celtics is to let him go, no matter what their overall  budget may or may not be.

On the other hand, Grant is a more important player than his box score reflects.  He is versatile, reliable, and durable.  A great combination for a bench player.  But he is also undersized for his position, and pretty one-dimensional on offense.  He probably should have taken the $50M.  There is a chance that he is not even offered that.  He might not see anything better than a tax payer MLE.

He’s delusional if he believes that. Johnson is a much better player. Grants been worse than he was last year, overall. Decent role player, but I don’t think he’s worth more than $10m annually.

Grant is playing decent minutes and no matter where he goes he will not be a top 2 option.  You could expect with more shots he can put up 13 and 6 with good D.  That is not a 20m type player.  At 20m you need to affect the game more then he does.  Look at Smart.  Is Grant as or more valuable then Smart?  Not even close.  With the way he's playing some idiot team may pay him 15m per year but I think he ends up at 10-12.  He's a good role player and nothing more.

Unfortunately for Grant, he is kind of stuck in never-never land.  He doesn't have enough upside for a bad team (who likely would have cap space) to spend money on but he is a good target for a contending team looking for some depth.  The problem is that the contending teams aren't going to have the cap space to offer to Grant.

The taxpayer MLE next season is only $7M.  Non-taxpayer MLE is $11M but if a team uses that, they essentially end up hard capped.  A contending team is not going to hard cap themselves for Grant Williams, I don't expect.  Teams with cap space can make offers to Grant but only after they renounce all of their own FAs who may have cap holds.  That ends up being a hard cap in essence also.

Like I said, Grant probably should have taken the $50M (if in fact that was offered).

Teams with likely more than $20 million in cap space:

Houston (where Grant was born)
San Antonio
Utah (Ainge drafted Grant)
Orlando
Charlotte (Grant went to high school in Charlotte)
OKC
Detroit
Indiana

Some of the above have over $40 million in cap space.  None of the big name free agents (Kyrie, Harden, Middleton) are likely to end up on any of those teams.  Will Grant get his $20 million?  Probably not.  Will Grant get more than the full MLE?  Certainly yes.  Are there non-contenders that Grant might have interest in for personal reasons?  Yeah, definitely.

I don't understand why a rebuilding / lower rung team would want to give a big chunk of its flexibility for a 7th or 8th man.  It doesn't mean it won't happen, but it would be a poor decision.  They're better off renting their cap space or saving it to re-sign their own players, rather than give up 10% - 15% of their cap to an undersized backup PF.

I mean, Grant ranks 164th in scoring out of 255 qualifying players.  He's 91st in rebounding.  He's 92nd in 3PTM.  And yet, he wants to be paid like a third starter.

Because he fits into any roster easily, and those teams are often times looking for role players to support their franchise players.  Why did Houston sign Daniel Theis to a four-year, $36 million deal, or whatever it was?  Why is Gary Harris getting $13 million a year from Orlando?  Why did Detroit give Olynyk $37 million over three years, and then trade him to Utah for Bogdanovich, whom they extended at another $20 million per year?  These deals happen all the time.

He’ll get paid by someone.  My guess is it will be with the C’s for $15-17 million a year, but there’s a chance someone goes high to keep the C’s from matching because of tax concerns.

When those players signed their contracts, they were more productive than Grant Williams.

[Wretch]

A rebuilding team with cap space could also sign him and flip him for picks to a contender a year or 2 after he signs. If he's worth starter money he's worth a protected 1st or 2.

[Phantom255x]

I hope another team gives GWill 18-20M AAV. Because the C's certainly shouldn't

[Goldstar88]

I hope another team gives GWill 18-20M AAV. Because the C's certainly shouldn't

Yep. He certainly made a case for that tonight. I like Grant, but he’s peaked at 8-9pts and 4-5rebs per game. Definitely not worth that kind of money.

[jpotter33]

Apparently DWhite stayed behind in Milwaukee to see an ear specialist tonight. Who knows whether he'll be able to play tomorrow now. Hope he's alright and doesn't have a busted eardrum or anything.

[Roy H.]

Here's the play during which White injured his ear:

https://twitter.com/RealBobManning/status/1625854153682722822

[Atzar]

I don't think Grayson Allen did anything dirty on that play but I'm always suspicious when he's involved.  Guy deserves zero benefit of the doubt. 

[Vermont Green]

Here's the play during which White injured his ear:

https://twitter.com/RealBobManning/status/1625854153682722822

Doesn't look like much.  I guess they can still get him to Boston to play tonight if they need him.  You would think he would see an ear specialist in Boston.  I wonder if they were concerned that the flight might be a problem with his ear.

[Goldstar88]

“As he has shown, Joe is a very talented coach and leader,” Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said in a statement announcing the decision. “He has a unique ability to galvanize a room around a mission. We are thankful for the work he has done to help get us to this point, and excited that he has agreed to lead us into the future.”  – via Tim Bontemps @ ESPN

Jared Weiss: Brad Stevens on Joe Mazzulla: “I know he gives a [dang] about everybody in that locker room. He really, really cares. It eats him up when something doesn’t go well individually for a guy. It eats him up when he feels like he’s let the team down.” – via Twitter JaredWeissNBA

Souichi Terada: Brad Stevens: “One of the things that’s pretty obvious and evident about Joe is that he’s a really good coach and that he’s an outstanding leader. I think he’s done a great job right from the get-go … about galvanizing the locker room around the mission.” – via Twitter SouichiTerada

Jay King: Malcolm Brogdon: “It’s the best locker room I’ve been a part of. By far.”  – via Twitter ByJayKing

[Phantom255x]

So it's setting up to be a heated race between Boston and Milwaukee for the 1 seed

That game on March 30 could be massive and probably determine it actually, since the winner of that game will also own the tiebreaker (so essentially it could be a 2-game swing either way).

But regardless, the C's have 23 games to go. I think 16-7 over the next 23 is likely/realistic, but the question is, will that be enough for the 1 seed? MIL has 24 games left and could also have a similar stretch as the C's. We can probably hope MIL slips up a bit but it's hard to see that.

Either way, I'm excited. I think it's good for us to be in this spot actually. Keep battling until the end of the season and don't let up. Don't get too complacent. Health is the #1 priority of course, but I also think being battle-tested will only help us in the postseason

[Roy H.]

StatMuse: Most points without free throws this season: 1,277 — Tatum 1,261 — Doncic 1,233 — Edwards 1,167 — Randle pic.twitter.com/SAE5FNJvBB 15 hours ago – via Twitter statmuse

[SHAQATTACK]

So it's setting up to be a heated race between Boston and Milwaukee for the 1 seed

That game on March 30 could be massive and probably determine it actually, since the winner of that game will also own the tiebreaker (so essentially it could be a 2-game swing either way).

But regardless, the C's have 23 games to go. I think 16-7 over the next 23 is likely/realistic, but the question is, will that be enough for the 1 seed? MIL has 24 games left and could also have a similar stretch as the C's. We can probably hope MIL slips up a bit but it's hard to see that.

Either way, I'm excited. I think it's good for us to be in this spot actually. Keep battling until the end of the season and don't let up. Don't get too complacent. Health is the #1 priority of course, but I also think being battle-tested will only help us in the postseason

Timelord s is the KEY to hanging  a banner .   He MUST arrive close to 100% at playoff time.

[Birdman]

Losing those 3 games against Orlando May hurt our #1 seed