Getty Robert Williams III #44 of the Boston Celtics looks to pass.
On September 20, Heavy’s Sean Deveney reported that Boston Celtics center Robert Williams III will have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, which will sideline him for four to six weeks. In other words, he’ll be out for training camp, pre-season, and potentially a few games in the regular season.
With him out, the Celtics may look to available centers on the market. Deveney listed some of the options they have in free agency, including one center in particular who has already played for the Celtics twice.
“There are experienced veteran centers to be had on the market—Dwight Howard, DeMarcus Cousins, Cody Zeller, Hassan Whiteside, and former Celtics Greg Monroe and Tristan Thompson among them.”
Monroe, who was the seventh overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, was a midseason pickup for the Celtics during the 2017-18 season after the Phoenix Suns waived him. In the 26 games he played for the Celtics that year, he averaged 10.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists while shooting 53 percent from the field.
The following season, Monroe briefly came back to the Celtics. In the two games he played for them, he averaged three points, 1.5 rebounds, and 0.5 assists while shooting 60 percent from the field. He also had brief stints with the Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers.
Monroe saw his first action since 2019 during the 2021-22 season, where, in 14 games, he split time with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Milwaukee Bucks, Washington Wizards, and Utah Jazz. Monroe’s standout performance came against the Celtics when he helped the Timberwolves defeat them.
Celtics ‘Showed a Little Interest’ in LaMarcus Aldridge
After Williams’ surgery had been reported, Adrian Wojnarowski brought up some of the options they have much like Deveney did, while also reporting that they had previous interest in one of those options.
“There are still some veteran bigs out there in the marketplace if they decide that they want to add somebody. Dwight Howard is out there. LaMarcus Aldridge is out there, a player I was told they showed a little interest in this summer.”
.@wojespn with the latest report on Robert Williams III:
Because Williams could potentially not miss any regular season games, Wojnarowski doesn’t believe it’s a foregone conclusion they’ll add another big.
“They expect to have (Williams) at 100 percent fairly early in the season. So I think it still remains to be seen whether Boston feels like it needs to go out and get some help. Really, mostly, this is going to be a preseason, training camp injury.”
Whether they ultimately do or not, the Celtics waiving Bruno Caboclo after Williams’ surgery had been reported and before training camp starts feels like not coincidental timing.
Sources: The Celtics have waived forward Bruno Caboclo.
Since then, the Celtics haven’t added any new players, so it may just mean the Celtics are keeping their options open.
Cody Zeller No Longer an Option
After Williams’ surgery was confirmed and Caboclo was waived, Shams Charania reported that Cody Zeller had agreed to a deal with the Utah Jazz.
Free agent center Cody Zeller has agreed to a deal with the Utah Jazz, sources tell me and @Tjonesonthenba.
With him off the market, Monroe, Howard, Aldridge, Whiteside, and Thompson are the biggest names among bigs who are still available. With training camp days away from now, it’s possible that all five of them will find a new deal before it starts.