Proposed Trade Sends Sixers $53 Million Ex-Celtic

The Philadelphia 76ers are locked and loaded for the 2024-25 season. They’ve added a fair amount of veteran help, but they could always use more. While they have used up most of their cap space, one veteran they could add via trade is Grant Williams.

The Sixers Wire’s Ky Carlin proposed the following trade between the Sixers and Charlotte Hornets that would send them the five-year veteran in an August 8 story.

Sixers receive: Williams

Hornets receive: KJ Martin

Carlin explained why the Sixers would have interest in Williams, explaining that he “is a career 37.7% shooter from deep” and that “Philadelphia gets another win-now veteran.”

Williams played four years for the Boston Celtics from 2019 to 2023, where he helped them reach the NBA Finals in 2022. He then split the 2023-24 season with the Dallas Mavericks and Hornets. He fared much better in Charlotte compared to Dallas.

In 47 games with the Mavericks, he averaged 8.1 points while shooting 41.3% from the field and 37.6% from three. In 29 games with the Hornets, he averaged almost 14 points while shooting 50.3% from the field and 37.3% from three.

Also, note that it would take more than Martin to trade for Williams. Martin will make $7.9 million for the 2024-25 season, while Williams will make $13 million. Because Martin makes less than Williams, they would have to include more contracts to make a trade work from a financial standpoint.

Williams will enter the second year of a four-year, $53 million contract.

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Bobby Marks Believes Sixers Should Chase Grant Williams

Carlin isn’t the only one who thinks the Sixers could look into Williams. ESPN’s Bobby Marks floated them as a trade destination when discussing the uncertainty of Williams’ future with Charlotte in a July 19 story.

“How does Grant Williams fit with the (Horners) long term? Williams has three years and $41 million left on his contract, and he has value with the Hornets and teams that are looking for a stretch 4 (hello, Philadelphia 76ers).

Williams restored much of his trade value because of his performance. At the same time, perhaps playing for a team with no expectations, like the Hornets, took the pressure off of him. What doesn’t make him look good is that the Mavericks made it all the way to the NBA Finals after they traded him away.

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Grant Williams Has Helped in the Postseason

Though Williams is coming off a shaky season, he has helped the Celtics during their playoff runs. He is known best for helping the Celtics beat the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 7 of the 2022 Western Conference Semifinals.

However, Williams also made a name for himself by helping the Celtics’ defense make life miserable for Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo during that same playoff run.

To be fair, Williams did not do this alone, but he proved he can be a cog in a good defense. The Sixers have title aspirations and have added some talented defensive personnel. When Williams is at his best, he is a valuable two-way player.

Plus, since the Celtics didn’t feel the urge to keep him, he may have the urge to play as well as possible to get back at them. As far as potential Sixers targets go knowing their cap situation, Williams would be a good find.

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