Getty Grant Williams, Boston Celtics
Grant Williams provided Boston Celtics fans a reminder of what he’s capable of during his January 9 performance in his team’s victory over the Chicago Bulls.
In 36 minutes of play, Williams provided his team with 20 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 1 assist while shooting 53.3% from the field and 33.3% from the perimeter. When speaking to the media during his post-game press conference, Williams shared his belief that he can continue to improve his all-around game.
“I feel like I’ll continually improve, not only year after year, but night after night, just continuing to understand spacing, understand driving angles, understand how people are guarding you, and I feel like at the beginning of the game, I didn’t make a couple of shots, and I decided to see something go in, be aggressive, continue to go downhill, be physical, and rebounding helps too,” Williams said.
Over the past 18 months, Williams has emerged as an integral part of the Celtics’ rotation and is quickly establishing himself as one of the better three-and-d wings in the NBA.
Multiple Teams Hold Interest In Acquiring Grant Williams
Williams will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the current season after failing to agree on terms for a contract extension with the Celtics this summer. According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, who was appearing on a December 20 episode of FanDuel Tv’s ‘Run It Back’ it would appear that multiple teams are keeping tabs on Williams’ willingness to jump ship this summer.
“You can plug Grant Williams on a team that’s not competitive right now, because he can probably help you with that…” 💪
@ShamsCharania on what the market looks like for #Celtics @Grant2Will
“There’s strong interest, 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 something in that 15 to 17 million dollar range in an extension. He’s thriving right now in this hybrid role. He’ll start sometimes, and he’ll come off the bench most of the time. He’s able to 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 puts him in a position to start, but where would that leave him? Would he play better? And I think teams feel like he could be more impactful on the offensive end doing a little bit more than just being a spot-up shooter. But, right now, he’s filling a perfect role for them. He’s thriving in that line-up. And I think, when you look at the cap space teams in the summer, the Orlando’s, the OKC’s, the Indiana’s — those are all teams that you can plug a Grant Williams in,” Charania said.
Luckily for Boston, they will have the ability to match any offer sheet Williams signs with another team, thus providing them with some form of control over their current contract situation with the Tennessee native.
Celtics Drew A Line In The Sand During Negotiations
According to a November 15 report by HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto, the Celtics entered negotiations with Williams knowing exactly how high they were willing to go in terms of annual salary.
Sources: The Celtics never offered Grant Williams more than $50 million guaranteed over four years during extension talks before the season. More on what rival executives believe it’ll take to pry Williams from Boston on @hoopshype.
“During extension talks with Grant Williams, the Celtics never offered more than $50 million guaranteed over four years, league sources told HoopsHype. As I previously reported on HoopsHype, Williams would’ve taken a deal for $14 million annually. There are some around the league that believe an offer around $18 million annually could be too much for Boston to match in restricted free agency,” Scotto wrote.