What does Grant Williams’ restricted free agency mean for the Celtics?

“It’s just a decision of whether or not it’s needed.”

June 28, 2023

5 minutes to read

On Tuesday, Grant Williams did a community event in Foxborough, where he expressed a willingness to return to the Celtics if they decide to bring him back.

Noting that he has “not much control in this,” Williams said he would be excited if Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens opted to keep him in Boston.

“It’s just a decision of whether or not it’s needed,” Williams told reporters. “Cap-wise, with the new CBA, all these teams [are] trying to get trades in and contracts done prior to the CBA truly being enacted. If the Celtics decide to do that, that is how it will work out. If not, it definitely changes the numbers.”

In the wake of the trade that sent Marcus Smart to the Grizzlies and brought back Kristaps Porzingis, Celtics fans might understandably be less focused on Williams. After all, for all of Williams’s production and affability – remember when he made candles for everyone in the organization as a rookie? – his impact doesn’t measure up to the impact of a nine-year veteran drafted by the franchise. Key members of the franchise seem to like Williams quite a bit – Deuce Tatum excepted – but no one would describe him as the team’s “heart and soul.”

But while Smart’s departure signaled a tectonic organizational moment, finding a way to gracefully lose Williams would be an important moment too. The Celtics reportedly view Williams as a “long shot” to return to the team in the wake of the Porzingis trade, even though they can match any deal an opposing team offers in restricted free agency – a shift in plans for the team’s front office.

But after the Porzingis deal, the Celtics have roughly $7.3 million in cap space with just 11 players on the roster and a couple of significant needs that don’t include a big man. Williams might not hit the lofty $20 million-per-year goal he and his agent reportedly wanted to reach during the season, but he is in line to make decent money – many analysts use the non-taxpayer mid-level exception as a baseline, which is just over $12 million. A spot-up 3-point shooter who can defend a number of different positions, Williams was a useful Swiss Army Knife for the Celtics over the last few years, particularly in the 2022 playoffs when he limited both Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo in the first and second rounds respectively.

The big rotation promises to be crowded, however. The Celtics believe they can play Porzingis with Robert Williams or Al Horford, and they have seen the bruising duo of Horford and Williams be the spine of an absurdly dominant defensive group if they can keep everyone healthy for the playoffs. Any of those three can also be the lone big in lineups with Jayson Tatum or even Jaylen Brown at the four. Big-man depth can probably be achieved more affordably without Williams if another team coughs up the non-taxpayer MLE.

Williams appeared to fall out of Joe Mazzulla’s rotation over the course of the year. The numbers simply didn’t support an expanded role for the 24-year-old – in the regular season, as the Celtics were a somewhat concerning 3.2 points per 100 possessions worse with Williams on the floor as opposed to off. Those numbers dive bombed to a nasty 12.2 points per 100 possessions in the postseason. Mazzulla was excruciatingly intentional about doing his homework, and the numbers didn’t suggest that Williams should be on the floor consistently. Mazzulla, for better or worse, acted accordingly.

The next steps will be fascinating – an early free agency exercise in what a team looking glumly at the new CBA decides to do.

In theory, the Celtics could re-sign Williams. They could find a way to move him down the line before too much damage is done to their books. They could also still try to find a way to clear salary space, especially since no enormous deal seems to be out there. Giannis Antetokounmpo is still in the Eastern Conference, after all, and keeping someone around who can clog up the paint to guard him wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Clearing space wouldn’t be easy, though – Malcolm Brogdon’s deal ($22.5 million) would be the most significant one to get off the books, but the Celtics might not want to do that given their sudden crunch at the guard position. Brogdon could be ready for the start of the year, and while he has every right to be disgruntled with the team after coming off the bench only to be involved in very public trade discussions, the Celtics would have a hard time replacing his production.

The Mavericks reportedly held conversations about Williams with the Celtics prior to the draft, which is at least mildly interesting since they picked up reported Celtics target Olivier-Maxence Prosper with the 24th pick on Thursday – one spot before the Celtics were slated to make a selection. Prosper could be a nice Williams replacement as a hyper-versatile defensive forward who could potentially defend every position, and his $2.27 million rookie-scale deal would hit the books softly. The Mavericks might not want to deal four potential years of cost-controlled production, but the Celtics could certainly inquire as to how serious their interest in Williams really was (and perhaps drop a couple of hints to remind them that Williams is a proven NBA player, and they are on Luka Doncic’s clock).

The Pacers might be more realistic, as reported by MassLive’s Brian Robb – with several cheap contracts on the books, adding Williams might be a nice fit next to Tyrese Haliburton. Meanwhile, a sign-and-trade is useful for the Celtics even if it doesn’t produce an immediate asset – the front office has found use for several traded player exceptions in recent years, and a sign-and-trade with Williams would generate a notable one if nothing came back in return.

The most Draconian measures in the new CBA don’t start to kick in next year, so the Celtics have a bit of a cushion if they decide to bring Williams back.

But Stevens seems to have made his vision for the team clear: Joe Mazzulla is the coach. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are the stars. The bigs are expected to provide spacing, either vertical (Robert Williams) or horizontal (Porzingis, Horford). The guards are expected to fill in the cracks.

Grant Williams can certainly play a role in that – his skill set could allow him to fill cracks as well. As he (in an uncharacteristically succinct way) put it: It’s just a decision of whether or not it’s needed.