Getty Grant Williams of the Boston Celtics
The Orlando Magic have their eyes on Grant Williams. Heavy Sports’ Sean Deveney reported that the Magic are interested in the Boston Celtics forward, though he explained why it isn’t likely that the Magic will get him.
“Another potential target that continually crops up around the Magic is Celtics forward Grant Williams, a restricted free agent who would add experience, toughness, and 3-and-D versatility. But the Celtics can match any offer, so unless Orlando is willing to put forth an unusually large sum for Williams, Boston probably will keep him.”
A Western Conference executive explained to Deveney why the Magic could use someone like Williams on their team.
“He is 24. He has proven his chops on both ends,” the West exec said. “You can’t coach that kind of experience. He’s got it. He is a perfect fit there. You want to become a playoff team. He is the kind of guy they’d want. But Orlando would have to overpay to get him, and it is tough to expect a team to do that. Obviously, if you are Williams, you want to see the Magic being aggressive on the market.”
The Magic finished with a record of 34-48, which got them the No. 12 seed in the Eastern Conference, but they have a group of promising young players led by Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. They also won their season series against the Celtics, winning 3-1.
Grant Williams Predicted to Stay With Celtics
Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report predicted how restricted free agency would play out for five NBA players, including Williams. Hughes explained what type of team would be interested in Williams this summer.
“It seems more likely offer sheets will come from teams that view Williams as a high-floor, low-ceiling rotation player ready to mix it up in April and May,” Williams said.
Though Hughes believes that it’s possible that someone could make an offer that will be too much for the Celtics to match, he predicts that Williams will stay in Boston.
“It wouldn’t be a surprise if someone exceeded the $12.2 million midlevel exception in an offer to Williams, which might be near the cutoff line for Boston to quickly match. Anything north of $15 million should make the Celtics sweat.
“Prediction: Williams and Boston agree on a four-year, $52 million contract.”
Grant Williams Considered a Player That’s ‘Harder to Find’
A league executive told Heavy Sports’ Steve Bulpett that finding players like Grant Williams is harder in the NBA these days.
“Those kind of guys are getting harder to find these days. But guys who figure that out, they can have a really long career. The kid in Boston isn’t bad at it, the other Williams, Grant. They ain’t calling any plays for Grant Williams. He’s ready to knock it down when they swing it to him, and he defends and rebounds. Finding those guys is becoming harder and harder.”
The exec added that how the Celtics utilized Williams in the postseason could factor into how he approaches his free agency.
“I’m not the only one waiting to see how he approaches this,” said a league exec. “He may look at those (five) DNPs in the playoffs and wonder about his future in Boston. Does he try to get an offer sheet structured to make it hard for Boston to match? I know there are teams that will be interested in helping that along.
“All I know is that he filled a number of different roles for them, and other teams are seeing the same thing. It’s going to be interesting to see how Boston deals with him because it might say a lot about what they think they need to do to get past a playoff loss that never should have happened.”