Getty Grant Williams, Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics have a decision to make regarding Grant Williams’ current contract situation, as the breakout forward is now eligible for a contract extension.
However, as things currently stand, there doesn’t seem to have been much movement between Williams camp and the Celtics front office, in terms of getting the deal over the line.
According to John Karalis of the Locked’ On Celtics Podcast, there could be a significant reason why the Celtics are dragging their heels in extending Williams – they’re waiting to see if he could be used as part of a trade package later in the season.
“If Brad Stevens doesn’t extend Grant Williams, what does that mean? Obviously, it could mean nothing…It could mean that Grant Williams could be included in a trade. And the thing about Williams being included in a trade is he represents value without the contract.When it comes to salary matching, Williams has talent…but he has value, he’s low cost but high value in terms of what he produces, at the money that he makes. So, there is a scenario where he doesn’t get a contract because the Celtics say, ‘hey, we want to keep our options open throughout the season,'” Karalis said during the September 12 episode.
Williams Agent ‘Prefers Extension’
When discussing Grant Williams’ contract situation on the latest episode of The Celtics Collective, Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney shared some insight into how Williams’ agent, Bill Duffy, likes to handle these sorts of situations.
“Getting that third-year extension is a very important thing, it’s a way of generating generational wealth for the young man’s family forever. If you get the opportunity to get that, you make sure they take advantage…Bill Duffy is also RJ Barrett’s agent, and we saw RJ take an extension rather than push for the max extension. Bill Duffy has a long history of approaching things this way,” Deveney said when discussing a potential Grant Williams extension.
With Williams and Boston seemingly on opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of this potential contract extension, it will be interesting to see how things play out over the coming weeks. But, one thing is for sure – failing to extend your young talent can quickly alienate their opinion of your franchise, and for a roster like Boston’s, that is so close to an NBA championship, that might not be worth the risk.
Some Analysts Believe Williams Will Get Paid
It’s always difficult to wade through the noise when trying to cultivate your own opinion on something – especially when that opinion is about the Boston Celtics – as the fanbase is as vocal and informed as they come.
Yet, while on the topic of a Grant Williams extension, CelticsBlog’s Neil Iyer provided a different point of view – postulating a world where the breakout forward signed a deal worth $60 million over four years – more than the $48 million Robert Williams agreed to last summer.
Burning Questions Week: what would a Grant Williams extension look like? t.co/dNZziQdAvc
“I don’t think it’s unreasonable to give him a 4-year, $60 million extension. The cap is jumping up by $10 million in two years, and when the new TV money kicks in by 2025, it will seem like a fair deal,” Iyer wrote.