Williams waiting out free agency in Boston
The Celtics and Grant Williams appeared to be in a bit of a holding pattern during the first full day of free agency Saturday.
Most of the NBA teams that had the salary-cap space needed to sign Williams to an offer sheet have already filled those openings with other options. HoopsHype reported Saturday that the Hornets were strongly considering making an offer to Williams, who grew up in Charlotte and has close family and friends in the area.
If Williams, a restricted free agent, does sign an offer sheet with another team after the moratorium ends Thursday, the Celtics would have 24 hours to match it and retain the 6-foot-5-inch forward.
Williams has continued to conduct his business in Boston amid the uncertainty, seemingly unbothered by the predicament. On Saturday, the 24-year-old kicked off his two-day youth basketball clinic at Boston University.
“It’s not super stressful for me,” he said. “It’s always fun to be able to come out and spend time with kids and enjoy the smiles and the joy because when you’re at this age, you make one jump shot and it shows the joy of basketball. At this age, everyone is just happy to be here, happy to have a great day and surrounded by your peers.”
Williams appears comfortable in Boston but understands the business of the game and that he may be playing elsewhere next season. He said he’s trying to focus on accomplishing his career goals.
“For me, it’s just a matter of making sure that you’re in a great position for the rest of your life,” he said. “And make sure you are mindful of your surroundings, mindful of what you’re doing, and be super excited for whatever comes from it.”
After the Celtics’ summer league team completed its first practice at the Auerbach Center Saturday, rookie forward Jordan Walsh revealed that Williams was working out in the team weight room with him earlier in the week.
“He told me I was built like a bug or something,” Walsh said, chuckling. “He was like, ‘Everybody can’t be built like me, like a god.’ ”
Last fall, Williams was seeking a contract extension worth approximately $54 million over four years, but he and the Celtics were unable to reach an agreement. On Thursday, the Celtics issued Williams an $8.4 million qualifying offer, officially making him a restricted free agent.
Williams could simply accept that oneyear offer and then become an unrestricted free agent next year. The Celtics could also execute a sign-and-trade with another club that does not have the salary-cap space needed to sign him, recouping an asset or creating a big trade exception in the process. The Mavericks, who do not have salary-cap space, could be lurking as an option, according to HoopsHype.
Last season, Williams averaged 8.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game while connecting on 39.5 percent of his 3-pointers. He fell out of coach Joe Mazzulla’s rotation for much of the postseason, however.
“He is a good player who was on a really deep team,” Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said last month. “And with that, with the addition of [Malcolm] Brogdon last year, that was going to require that guys that had gotten a little bit more opportunity weren’t going to get as much. And that obviously hit a few of our players, Payton [Pritchard] included. And Grant was another one of them.
“But everybody around the league knows that Grant can add value to a winning team. We know that. We’re big fans of his and I thought he played, did a lot of good things when he got the opportunity.”
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Celtics forward Jaylen Brown, meanwhile, is eligible for a five-year, $295 million super-max extension this offseason. League sources said the Celtics and Brown have yet to fully jump into negotiations.