Celtics’ Grant Williams Expected to Demand Eye-Watering Salary: Report

Getty Grant Williams, Boston Celtics

Throughout the season, one of the significant talking points among Boston Celtics fans has been what type of contract Grant Williams will get in the summer.

Well, according to Marc Stein in a February 13 edition of his SteinLine newsletter, it would appear that Grant Williams is looking toward the San Antonio Spurs’ Keldon Johnson as a potential marker in negotiations.

More on the KD trade … more on the NBA buyout market … more around-the-league notes via This Week In Basketball … all freshly dispatched to inboxes and @SubstackInc apps worldwide: https://t.co/azl6QWPGlL

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 14, 2023

” The Celtics, to no one’s surprise, did not trade Grant Williams. Making minor tweaks was the understandable preference for the defending Eastern Conference champions when they ranked as the league’s only team with a win total in the 40s entering Monday’s play. Yet rumbles persist that various teams are monitoring the situation and curious about Williams’ future there. Williams is poised to become a restricted free agent this summer and said to be seeking a contract in the Keldon Johnson-in-San Antonio, $20-million-annually range,” Stein reported.

Williams is set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the current season and has shown notable improvement in his offensive game this year.

Celtics Set The Limit at $12.5 Million Last Summer

According to Micahel Scotto of HoopsHype, the Celtics set a limit of $12.5 million per year during their contract extension discussions with Williams last season, with a deal not being agreed upon.

Sources: The Celtics never offered Grant Williams more than $50 million guaranteed over four years during extension talks before the season. More on what rival executives believe it’ll take to pry Williams from Boston on @hoopshype. https://t.co/fQuC8AecGN

— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) November 15, 2022

“During extension talks with Grant Williams, the Celtics never offered more than $50 million guaranteed over four years, league sources told HoopsHype. As I previously reported on HoopsHype, Williams would’ve taken a deal for $14 million annually. There are some around the league that believe an offer around $18 million annually could be too much for Boston to match in restricted free agency,” Scotto wrote.

However, it would now appear that Williams has played well enough to command a significantly larger yearly salary and that he was probably right to trust his development and wait until his contract expired before renegotiating new terms.

Multiple Teams Hold Interest in Grant Williams

As Stein mentioned, there are multiple teams who currently hold interest in potentially acquiring Williams. Back in December, The Athletic’s Shams Charania also shared similar information while appearing on FanDuel TV’s Run It Back.

“There’s strong interest, so I think there’s gonna be a market. When I talk to teams around the league, I think people are looking at him as something in that 15 to 17 million dollar range in an extension. He’s thriving right now in this hybrid role. He’ll start sometimes, and he’ll come off the bench most of the time. He’s able to thrive as a spot-up shooter. So, it’s gonna be curious to see if he does end up leaving or if he gets a bigger deal somewhere else…I think, when you look at the cap space teams in the summer, the Orlando’s, the OKC’s, the Indiana’s — those are all teams that you can plug a Grant Williams in,” Charania said.

Williams is currently averaging 8.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game while shooting 46.6% from the field and 41% from deep, and has a chance to be a significant rotation piece on a team that could potentially win the NBA Championship. As such, one would hope the Celtics can find a way to retain him beyond the current season, but if not, there will certainly be other team’s willing to welcome him with open arms.