Strong Interest in Grant Williams (Rumor)

[Ed Monix]

With Williams in the midst of just his fourth NBA campaign, taking a chance on himself could pay dividends.

The interest level for outsiders eyeing Williams reportedly is “strong,” according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

“There’s strong interest,” Charania said Tuesday, per FanDuel TV video. “So I think there’s gonna be a market. When I talk to teams around the league, I think people are looking at him as somewhere in that $15 to $17 million dollar range in an extension.”

Rumors suggested that the Celtics’ offer to Williams didn’t exceed $50 million. That extension offer would’ve pocketed $12.5 million in annual salary.

“He’s thriving right now in this hybrid role or he’ll start sometimes — he’ll come off the bench most of the time,” Charania said. “So he’s been able to really thrive as a spot-up shooter. So it’s gonna be curious to see if he does end up leaving or if he gets a bigger deal somewhere else — obviously, that would put him in a position to start. But where would that leave him? Would he play better?”

“I think teams feel like he can be more impactful on the offensive end,” Charania said. “Doing a little bit more than just being a spot-up shooter. But right now he’s filling a perfect role for (the Celtics). … And I think when you look at the cap space teams — the Orlando’s (Magic), the OKC’s (Thunder), the Indiana’s (Pacers) — those are teams that you can plug a Grant Williams.”

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Source: NESN

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Interesting. You wonder what the motivation for that report to drop now?

Grant and Gallo gets you pretty close to the salary for Turner if the Pacers view Grant as a good fit next to their core.

The other interesting thought would be Wendell Carter. I really think the Magic are going to need to trade one of their bigs eventually. I like Isaac a lot too, but you can't trade a proven playoff guy for that until Isaac looks good back on the court again.

[Ed Monix]

Interesting. You wonder what the motivation for that report to drop now?

Grant and Gallo gets you pretty close to the salary for Turner if the Pacers view Grant as a good fit next to their core.

The other interesting thought would be Wendell Carter. I really think the Magic are going to need to trade one of their bigs eventually. I like Isaac a lot too, but you can't trade a proven playoff guy for that until Isaac looks good back on the court again.

This seems like Grant’s agent putting pressure on the Celtics.

But I am sure there are multiple teams that would love Grant on their roster. I think the Mavericks specifically would be a great fit for Grant, as he’s very reminiscent of P.J Tucker and Doncic’s playing style closely resembles James Harden.

[PAOBoston]

Would be a travesty if he gets that much from the Cs. Nice player but they should let him walk if he’s getting offers for that (I find that unlikely tbh). He’s a player without a position. He’s turned into a good 3 pt shooter but not sure that is enough to overcome his size and defensive limitations.

[JBcat]

Interesting. You wonder what the motivation for that report to drop now?

Grant and Gallo gets you pretty close to the salary for Turner if the Pacers view Grant as a good fit next to their core.

The other interesting thought would be Wendell Carter. I really think the Magic are going to need to trade one of their bigs eventually. I like Isaac a lot too, but you can't trade a proven playoff guy for that until Isaac looks good back on the court again.

I highly doubt the Magic would trade Carter for that package. Carter is an underrated very good starting young center, that is imo on the verge of being a top 10 center in the league. I would love to get him someday as an eventual Horford replacement, but I don’t think that trade package would work.

[Neurotic Guy]

In a trade, does the receiving team lose UFA rights?   I assume so.  If that is correct, who trades present value to rent Grant Williams?

[radiohead]

In a trade, does the receiving team lose UFA rights?   I assume so.  If that is correct, who trades present value to rent Grant Williams?

It probably needs to be a sign and trade. Whoever wants him would surely want him to be locked up for multiple seasons. In this case, the trade needs to happen in the offseason though.

[jambr380]

In a trade, does the receiving team lose UFA rights?   I assume so.  If that is correct, who trades present value to rent Grant Williams?

You mean RFA rights and yes, the receiving team maintains control over the player since he is on a rookie contract and can match any contract he receives.

This should prop up Grant's value somewhat, but I doubt he is going to bring back a player better than him this season. Still wouldn't hurt to see what's out there, though, if he is expecting $17M+ per season after this one.

[Birdman]

No way I give him 15 million a year.. trade him now and get something for him

[td450]

Why would Orlando, OKC or Indiana do this?

Even if they wanted to, why would Grant be their choice? He's a nice player, but paying non starting rotation players big money is death. All of the teams above have multiple guys that are quality young players at the 3/4 spot.

Bigger slaries for guys like Grant are really only justified in marginal cases where contenders are locked into salary cap issues. He stays a Celtic, or worst case, he gets signed and traded.

[Neurotic Guy]

In a trade, does the receiving team lose UFA rights?   I assume so.  If that is correct, who trades present value to rent Grant Williams?

You mean RFA rights and yes, the receiving team maintains control over the player since he is on a rookie contract and can match any contract he receives.

This should prop up Grant's value somewhat, but I doubt he is going to bring back a player better than him this season. Still wouldn't hurt to see what's out there, though, if he is expecting $17M+ per season after this one, though.

I meant RFA.  Thanks.  If they calculate they’ll lose him, won’t match an offer he’s likely to get, then trading below his value should be a consideration.  Also could look for some draft capital or an older player who could provide a PJ Brown / Rasheed Wallace bench big.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Why would Orlando, OKC or Indiana do this?

Even if they wanted to, why would Grant be their choice? He's a nice player, but paying non starting rotation players big money is death. All of the teams above have multiple guys that are quality young players at the 3/4 spot.

Bigger slaries for guys like Grant are really only justified in marginal cases where contenders are locked into salary cap issues. He stays a Celtic, or worst case, he gets signed and traded.

Grant is a good player. That's why. He can defend 3s and 4s at a high level. He can switch onto guards and bigs and hold his own. He's an excellent shooter and unselfish passer. He's very good in a read and react offensive system that flows. Plus, as Shams stated, he probably has more to his offensive game that's not being used right now. He's flashed the ability to score a little in the post, drive, and even function as the ball-handler in the pick-and-roll.

He's not a star, but he is the type of player that young teams should be investing in to pair with star playmakers like Haliburton, Banchero, or SGA.

I'd like to keep him. I'm not really interested in trading him for a marginal upgrade, but if you could combine his salary with Gallinari's and a few smaller ones to really upgrade the 4, then I'm interested.

[td450]

Why would Orlando, OKC or Indiana do this?

Even if they wanted to, why would Grant be their choice? He's a nice player, but paying non starting rotation players big money is death. All of the teams above have multiple guys that are quality young players at the 3/4 spot.

Bigger slaries for guys like Grant are really only justified in marginal cases where contenders are locked into salary cap issues. He stays a Celtic, or worst case, he gets signed and traded.

Grant is a good player. That's why. He can defend 3s and 4s at a high level. He can switch onto guards and bigs and hold his own. He's an excellent shooter and unselfish passer. He's very good in a read and react offensive system that flows. Plus, as Shams stated, he probably has more to his offensive game that's not being used right now. He's flashed the ability to score a little in the post, drive, and even function as the ball-handler in the pick-and-roll.

He's not a star, but he is the type of player that young teams should be investing in to pair with star playmakers like Haliburton, Banchero, or SGA.

I'd like to keep him. I'm not really interested in trading him for a marginal upgrade, but if you could combine his salary with Gallinari's and a few smaller ones to really upgrade the 4, then I'm interested.

I agree with most of what you wrote. Still...

Orlando will be building around Banchero and Wagner, who will likely be all stars in a few years. They have Okeke. They still hope Isaac will be a long term player.

OKC has Holmgren, Dort, Pokuševski and three different Williams.

Indiana has Mathurin, Jalen Smith and Nesmith.

So, yes, all three could use him, but all three have at least two guys they really should play ahead of him, and a rotation guy that should play. There are also other guys in this free agent class, and all three will get lottery picks. Does it make sense to drop big money on him?

The more likely scenario is we keep him or execute a sign and trade, where a competitive team trades their salary for ours.

Grant has become a very good rotation player, but he's not a volume scorer and it's a tough thing to get that range of money as a free agent.

[keevsnick]

I find it VERY hard to believe grant Williams is gonna get 15-17 million as a restricted free agent. He's averaging 9.3/4.6/1.6 this year as a reserve and is going to be a restricted free agent. Guys putting up those kind of numbers in his type of role just don't get that much money on the restricted market.

[W8ting2McHale]

I like Grant. He’s turned into the player I hoped he would be.

But the Celtics lack length, and Grant is one of the reasons why. The Celtics managed to survive in the small ball era, but the younger teams are going long and will soon be dominating the league. We don’t measure up when there’s a forest of 7 foot trees and we don’t have anyone over 6’10” to throw at them except for Kornet.

If Brad can turn Grant into a legit center or power forward through a trade or draft pick, then he should.