Grant Williams saw Marcus Smart get surprisingly traded by the Celtics last week and knows there’s a chance he might be the next core player leaving this summer.
But the Celtics forward is leaving the outcome out of his hands.
Williams will be a restricted free agent when free agency begins on Friday, meaning the Celtics will have the ability to match any contract offer he receives. After four seasons with the Celtics since being drafted in the first round in 2019, Williams is open to returning to the only NBA franchise he’s ever known. But he also recognized that looming salary cap limitations coming with the new collective bargaining agreement will make a deal to come back to Boston challenging.
Williams discussed his future at an event sponsored by Fanatics in partnership with the Patriots on Tuesday in Foxboro, where Jayson Tatum was also in attendance.
“Absolutely,” Williams told reporters on the possibility of returning. “It’s just a matter of, it’s a decision whether or not it’s needed. Cap-wise, the new CBA, I think all these teams as you see are trying to get the trades in and the contracts done prior to the CBA truly being enacted, so you’re gonna see a lot of all-in pushes. If the Celtics decide to do it, that’s how it’ll work out. If not, it helps financially a little bit, but it definitely changes the numbers.”
It seems like the writing is on the wall for Williams’ Boston exit. The two sides couldn’t reach an agreement on a contract extension prior to the start of this season, which was ultimately rocky for Williams as he fell out of Joe Mazzulla’s rotation for portions of the second half of the season. The trade addition of Kristaps Porzingis makes it harder to envision Williams’ fit in a crowded Celtics’ frontcourt considering what is likely to be a sizable pay day for him.
The Celtics will likely make a one-year, $8.5 million qualifying offer in order to retain his matching rights, but his potential deal will likely exceed that. If he leaves to another team, the C’s will receive some kind of compensation in return.
“Whatever happens. I have not much control in this because I allow my agents and everybody else to focus in on that because my whole goal and focus has always been winning, and making sure team success is the No. 1 and most important thing,” Williams told reporters. “Brad (Stevens) and those guys, if they decide to keep me and bring me back, of course I’m going to come back and be excited, happy and ready to play for the Celtics. If something else happens, then I have to transition.
“But for me, my outlook has always been that I want to make sure that wherever I am, to impact success and winning and make sure that I’m just there for the players around me and focus on the team first. Whatever happens this free agency will be that.”
Williams also reacted to the loss of Smart, who was traded to the Grizzlies in the three-team trade that brought Porzingis to the Celtics, saying it’s tough to see him go but also trusting the decisions that Stevens and the C’s are making.
“It’s something that definitely hurts a little bit just because you’ve been with someone for so long and he’s a phenomenal person, phenomenal teammate and he plays with the heart and passion of anyone across this entire organization and league,” Williams told reporters. “And you have to understand it’s part of the business. You have to be excited about where the team is headed and what direction they’re trying to take. You have to trust Brad and you have to not really hold too much against it because we know Marcus is going to be great wherever he goes.
“He’s in a great situation with a talented team and they needed him. They needed a player like that. They needed a player to defend and also be able to shoot and knock down shots and lead. He’s very, very able to do that and this team is going to have to step up in that absence because he was such a huge part of this organization, this franchise, this tenure of Celtics history. He’s a true Celtic, so losing that is definitely going to hurt, but we have to wish him luck and pray for him along the way.”
Williams said he’s feeling good physically after having surgery on June 9 to repair a tear of a ligament in his left hand, which he suffered in March and played through for the rest of the season.
“I think I re-did something or did something, I don’t know what I did in Game 6 and then I was like, ‘Yeah, we have to make sure we get this image after the season,’ they recommended surgery,” Williams told reporters. “It’s the first surgery of my life, so it was very, very anxious and weird but it’s been an easy recovery and now I’ll be back way before training camp, so it’s like it never even happened. So, I’m all good. I’m feeling all good and ready to go.”