Celtics forward Grant Williams will be a restricted free agent in the summer and Shams Charania said on FanDuel TV (video link) that he’ll attract strong interest. Charania anticipates Williams will receive something in the range of $15-17MM annually on his next deal. If he doesn’t reach an agreement with Boston, the club would have to decide whether to match an offer sheet.
“When you look at the cap space teams in the summer, the Orlandos, the OKCs, the Indianas, those are teams that you can plug a Grant Williams on a team that’s not competitive right now, he can help you with leadership and obviously, on the court as well,” Charania said of the Celtics forward.
We have more from the Eastern Conference:
- With Obi Toppin sidelined by a leg injury, the Knicks have been using the power combination of Isaiah Hartenstein and Jericho Sims on the second unit. Coach Tom Thibodeau likes what he’s seen from that duo, Fred Katz of The Athletic writes. “I think it gives you rebounding. It gives you size,” Thibodeau said. “It gives you physicality.”
- The Nets overcame an early 18-point deficit against Toronto and a 19-point deficit at Detroit. That’s not a recipe for long-term success against tougher competition, forward Royce O’Neale told Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “It’s a big challenge for us. So I think we’ve got to raise our level of play,” he said. “The way we’ve been playing sometimes, you know, can’t come out with lack of energy or [focus]. We’ve got to set the tone from the jump and then we’ve just got to execute and control the whole game.”
- Saddiq Bey and Marvin Bagley III have been moved to the Pistons’ second unit by coach Dwane Casey. It has led to better bench production, though the team has lost six of its last seven after falling to Utah on Tuesday, Mike Curtis of the Detroit News writes. “It’s no disrespect to Saddiq, no disrespect to Marvin at all being in the second unit,” Casey said. “We need that. I love the way our second unit is coming in and changing the game and kind of having an identity, defensively, offensively, some go-to actions that they can click with.”
Williams would be a great target for the Bulls, along with Jakob Poeltl, as part of a general retooling.
Are you trying to get people to never want to watch that team ever again? Sounds like a Garpax summer…
The Pistons, when healthy, actually have quite a few strong pieces from which to build upon and contend with moving forward.
I thought they had a solid off-season, and I really expected them to take a step forward in their development this year..
With Cunningham, Noel, Bagley, Burks, and Livers each missing 10-20 some odd games it is really hard to judge..
Grant would be a terrific fit for Indy.
He’s vocal, for some leadership about him, solid at both ends of the floor, spaces the floor and knows how to win games. Perfect off the ball, floor spacer, 2 way guy to go with Tyrese, Benedict and Myles Turner if he stays.
Indy would have a good defence and really good shooting and scoring options led by the NBAs leader in assists and a good head coach
Indiana are doing a heck of a job with their rebuild
Is Grant really worth that much? Don’t get me wrong he’s a good player but $15-$17M+ I expect more than 9.5PPG… as for his “leadership” in reality it’s mostly him yelling at refs that’s seemingly being portrayed as leadership here. He may also be a good teammate but “leader” is a little premature.
Nailed it. His non stop complaining is a negative overall on the team. He also seems to be reading too many articles like this that are saying how great he is and his ego is much larger than it should be. He’s a terrible rebounder and finisher, and is the shortest guy on the floor most of the time(including guards).
A large part of his “success” is all the open looks he gets playing with Tatum and Brown. He can’t create his own shot off the dribble or post up to save his life.
No. He’s obese and gets open shots because Tatum and Brown and other much better players get the attention from defenses. He will regress greatly if a lesser team signs him to a big contract.
I’m probably one the few who wouldn’t care if Williams leaves he’s a good player but you can find guys like him anywhere
Love all the doubters of Grant Will.
Yes he only averages 9.4 points per game but that’s cause his job hasn’t been to score.
Look at his efficiency, 53% FG, 44% 3P and 82% FT. He’s putting up 9.5 points per game on 6 shots, which is extremely effective.
What’s also worth noting is that as his minutes have increased every season all his stats increase be it points, rebounds and assists, albeit the steals are down this year. However the efficiency has also improved every year even tho he’s taking more shots.
Just for an example Kyle Kuzma is talking about getting 20-25mil, Grant Williams plays the same position with a similar skill set.
Kuzma is averaging 21.3 points on 18 shots shooting 46-34-69. Williams 9.4 points on 6 attempts shooting as I said 53-44-82.
Besides being with the Wizards Kuzmas always been about a 14-5-2 guy that doesn’t shoot that efficiently and isn’t great defensively, it’s just that since joining Washington he’s taken a bunch more shots that people now view him as being this much better player. Imagine if Grant got to shoot double or three times as many times, on his current shooting marks he’d be putting up 28.2 points per game.
Let’s say he joins the Pacers, he’d likely be the starting PF over Jalen Smith who is currently taking 9 shots per game. In order to free up the cap space Buddy Heilds 14 shots per game are gone so lets give Grant a couple extra attempts.
He’d be averaging about 16/17 points per game from maybe 12/13 shots. The rebound numbers would improve playing as the PF next to Myles Turner who isn’t a great rebounder aswell.
So for 17/18 mil a season your getting a two way forward giving you 17-7-3 roughly with good defence and efficient shooting.
Whereas the Wizards will likely give Kuzma 25mil for 20-8-3 with poor defence and inefficient shooting.
I know what I’d rather
How about look at when he does start and he is overmatched and tentative, if he gets 17-20 and starts somewhere he will be overmatched all the time. If hes not the 5th option on the floor theres almost no chance he will succeed.
Disagree completely
17-7-3?
Williams averages 11.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per 36 minutes.
No one is a “doubter” Of Grant Williams, you just overvalue him.
Yes that may be the case but that’s probably his per 36 on maybe 10 shot attempts on the Celtics were he predominantly plays as the 4th/5th scoring option. If he was on the pacers he’d be the 3rd/4th scoring option more often, get a bunch more attempts than the 6 he’s currently taking and his numbers would jump considerably
No man, because on the Pacers he wouldn’t have all those open looks from the corner. He doesn’t have a post-up game, and he can’t create his own shot. He’s also a very poor rebounder. I like him and am glad he is on the Celtics, but he is limited.
I think he would have just as many open looks. Tyrese would be feeding him the ball and he leads the league in assists. Benedict draws the attention of defences and you’ve also got Myles Turner. Grant would continue to sit in the corner and drain three and also get cuts to the rim and occasionally some stuff at the top of the key. He’d easily go from 6.6 attempts to 10-12 attempts. He doesn’t need to post guys up or create his own shot. He’s got the body of a PJ Tucker, Draymond Green type but is a better shooter and more actively looking to score than these two. He isn’t great on the boards but then again it’s also never really new his role he’s a good on ball defender than often switches down onto guards and wings.
I do agree is is limited cause of his inability to handle the ball and create for himself but I’m really high on him. I think with the right coaching and on the right team he could easily be a 17-7-2 guy with great defence in which 17mil is a great price
He’s obese and he complains too much.
Your Opinion
Grant Williams ? Do you really think Grant could find & take 15 to 20 shots a game? I don’t.
But I’m most concerned with the Celtics coach.
Lets his players “figure things out?” Doesn’t take time outs to kill opponents momentum? Our defense has fallen off a cliff! Tries to win only by outscoring teams? Thought our 2nd loss at home to Orlando was one of our best games? Made that snide religious comment. Don’t think he’s helping this team at all & now we’re lost. Does he have a plan? Hopefully he does but I don’t see it. Just gonna keep running the team out there. Maybe Brad can pull a miracle. Come on, Go Celtics!