Reporter Discusses ‘Odds’ of Celtics Reunion With 1st-Round Center

The Boston Celtics have brought back players who’d played for them before. One they could certainly use is former starting center Robert Williams III. However, MassLive’s Brian Robb wrote that a reunion between the two sides wasn’t likely. At least not in the near future.

Robb wrote in a July 26 mailbag about the slim likelihood that Williams would find his way back to Boston on his current contract with the Portland Trail Blazers.

“The odds of a return to Boston are essentially zero on Williams’ current deal,” he wrote on July 26, answering a reader who asserted that Williams might be on the trade block. “The Celtics simply have no way to trade for him without moving someone in their top six, and that just isn’t happening for Williams at this point.”

The Celtics traded Williams in a package deal to the Blazers that sent them Jrue Holiday. Williams played six games for Portland in 2023 before suffering a season-ending knee injury.

He will enter the third year of a four-year, $48 million contract.

Robert Williams III Could Join Celtics Rival

Robb wrote that he didn’t believe Williams would play for Portland for much longer. He floated the possibility of Williams joining one of the Celtics’ biggest rivals.

“The bigger question for Celtics fans is whether he will end up boosting some sort of playoff rival if he comes back healthy,” he wrote. “The Knicks could certainly use some more help in the front court, although another injury-prone big man probably wouldn’t work great behind Mitchell Robinson.”

He added that teams will likely want to see Williams prove he can stay on the court before trading for him. Since coming into the NBA, Williams has played over 60 games exactly once. That was the 2021-22 season, and Williams suffered an injury just before the regular season ended. He valiantly tried to play through it during the Celtics run to the 2022 NBA Finals, but it was clear his injury was impacting his effectiveness.

“The guess here is teams will want to see Williams back healthy on the floor for a bit this season before taking a gamble on him but I’d be stunned if he plays out another full season in Portland at this point.”

Jayson Tatum Shouts Out Robert Williams III

Though Williams played a role in the Celtics becoming a contender, he was their sacrificial lamb on their way to a title. Jayson Tatum made note of that fact, shouting out Williams and expressing dismay that both he and Marcus Smart weren’t on the title-winning roster. At the same time, he said, he is happy with whom they added.

“The toughest part about winning this championship is that Smart isn’t here and Rob isn’t here,” Tatum told Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix. “But I’m so happy that we have Jrue and [Kristaps Porzingis]. Those guys obviously took us to the next level.”

Every team that wins a title usually has to sacrifice a good player or two to win. The Celtics sacrificed both Williams and Smart to get to that next level, and those moves paid dividends.