I recommend reading the whole thing since Grant talked with BRobb about it in more detail.
Notable Excerpt:
>The salary cap may be on the rise substantially in upcoming summers, something Williams knows very well firsthand as a Vice President in the NBPA as the group negotiates with the owners on a future CBA. With rookie extensions lasting for a minimum of four years, Williams is likely understandably hesitant to lock himself in a long-term pact that may be well below his market value in a couple more years.
>**League sources have told MassLive that the Celtics have offered a comparable mid-level type deal for Williams to this point. However, it sounds like Williams is aiming for a deal worth something in the mid-teens range annually. The two sides appear highly unlikely to bridge that gap ahead of Monday. Williams is prepared to handle whatever the fallout is after Monday’s deadline**
tacko2020
“Assuming Williams does not reach an extension with Boston, league sources tell MassLive that they do not expect him to become a trade candidate this season in a contract year. His low salary and pending free agency won’t make him useful in bigger deals and his value to a contending team in Boston is far greater than what he might fetch in any deal. If the Celtics need money for salary matching in a deal also involving Danilo Gallinari, they will have other means to make they money work without taking away a part of their frontcourt.”
tacko2020
It’s a risky strategy that they’re doing, but they’re clearly gambling that no one is going to drastically overpay him in RFA. This strategy did work with Smart in 2017, but it’s risky.
nicklovin508
Personally I’m all for playing the waiting game and seeing if Grant’s ascension last year is legit. Realistically I don’t see him getting so much better that it puts us out of a fair price range.
SomeSayImARobot
This was the quote that explained the most for me:
“The Celtics have all the leverage next summer if Williams hit restricted free agency since role players like Williams traditionally have not received big offer sheets from other teams in restricted free agency. In fact, you have to go back to Kyle Anderson in the summer of 2018 to find a comparable player to Williams that left their own team for an offer sheet in restricted free agency. Back then, Anderson departed the Spurs to sign with the Grizzlies for a four-year deal starting at the full mid-level exception ($8.6 million).
The Celtics going beyond mid-level money in 2023 ($10 million per year with raises) would in essence be bidding against themselves.”
efshoemaker
This exactly how it happened with Smart at the end of his rookie deal. And it was kind of the same scenario with him too where his numbers didn’t reflect what his long term value was obviously going to be.
Smart went to RFA and Ainge told him to shop around and then report what kind of offers he was getting, and then we gave him a new deal based on that.
Realistically Grant is going to get a second contract with us eventually. The list of scenarios where he would get an offer sheet that we don’t match is really small. It would have to be something crazy, like $20m+ a year.
6 Comments
I recommend reading the whole thing since Grant talked with BRobb about it in more detail.
Notable Excerpt:
>The salary cap may be on the rise substantially in upcoming summers, something Williams knows very well firsthand as a Vice President in the NBPA as the group negotiates with the owners on a future CBA. With rookie extensions lasting for a minimum of four years, Williams is likely understandably hesitant to lock himself in a long-term pact that may be well below his market value in a couple more years.
>**League sources have told MassLive that the Celtics have offered a comparable mid-level type deal for Williams to this point. However, it sounds like Williams is aiming for a deal worth something in the mid-teens range annually. The two sides appear highly unlikely to bridge that gap ahead of Monday. Williams is prepared to handle whatever the fallout is after Monday’s deadline**
“Assuming Williams does not reach an extension with Boston, league sources tell MassLive that they do not expect him to become a trade candidate this season in a contract year. His low salary and pending free agency won’t make him useful in bigger deals and his value to a contending team in Boston is far greater than what he might fetch in any deal. If the Celtics need money for salary matching in a deal also involving Danilo Gallinari, they will have other means to make they money work without taking away a part of their frontcourt.”
It’s a risky strategy that they’re doing, but they’re clearly gambling that no one is going to drastically overpay him in RFA. This strategy did work with Smart in 2017, but it’s risky.
Personally I’m all for playing the waiting game and seeing if Grant’s ascension last year is legit. Realistically I don’t see him getting so much better that it puts us out of a fair price range.
This was the quote that explained the most for me:
“The Celtics have all the leverage next summer if Williams hit restricted free agency since role players like Williams traditionally have not received big offer sheets from other teams in restricted free agency. In fact, you have to go back to Kyle Anderson in the summer of 2018 to find a comparable player to Williams that left their own team for an offer sheet in restricted free agency. Back then, Anderson departed the Spurs to sign with the Grizzlies for a four-year deal starting at the full mid-level exception ($8.6 million).
The Celtics going beyond mid-level money in 2023 ($10 million per year with raises) would in essence be bidding against themselves.”
This exactly how it happened with Smart at the end of his rookie deal. And it was kind of the same scenario with him too where his numbers didn’t reflect what his long term value was obviously going to be.
Smart went to RFA and Ainge told him to shop around and then report what kind of offers he was getting, and then we gave him a new deal based on that.
Realistically Grant is going to get a second contract with us eventually. The list of scenarios where he would get an offer sheet that we don’t match is really small. It would have to be something crazy, like $20m+ a year.