August 24: The Celtics have officially extended Williams, per a team press release.
“Rob has embraced being a Celtic from day one,” team president Brad Stevens said in a statement. “He is a great teammate and is completely committed to getting better. We’re excited that he will continue to do so here in Boston.”
August 20: After agreeing to a four-year contract extension with Marcus Smart earlier this week, the Celtics have reached a deal to extend another rotation player through 2025/26. The team is in agreement with big man Robert Williams on a four-year, $54MM deal, agent Kevin Bradbury tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Williams, who will turn 24 in October, saw limited playing time in his first two NBA seasons, partly due to injuries, but emerged as a regular contributor for Boston in 2020/21. In 52 games (18.9 MPG), including 13 starts, he averaged 8.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per contest. His impressive .721 FG% was right in line with his career rate (.720).
Despite only having appeared in 113 regular season games to date, Williams has flashed promise on both ends of the court and brings plenty of athleticism to the Celtics’ frontcourt.
As Wojnarowski notes, the new four-year deal will put the former Texas A&M standout in the top half of NBA centers by annual salary, but he has the potential to outplay it if he stays healthy and continues to improve.
The timing of the deal is interesting. Typically, players eligible for rookie scale extensions reach deals closer to the October deadline, unless they’re obvious max-salary players like Luka Doncic, Trae Young, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Williams – the fourth player to receive a rookie scale extension in 2021 – is the first one of those four to agree to a deal worth less than the max.
[RELATED: 2021/22 NBA Contract Extension Tracker]
The fact that the Celtics were willing to sign off on a new deal for Williams nearly two months ahead of the deadline suggests they were eager to get the young center locked up and were comfortable with the price point.
The extensions for Smart and Williams all but assure Boston will enter the 2022 offseason as an over-the-cap team, barring some major roster moves between now and then.
Better stay healthy
When On court williams is a real difference maker
They are committing half a million dollars to him for each career game played.
They better hope he is on court a little more often.
This is Celtics good year
It’s hard to build up the championship bench starting next year
The timing of the Time Lord deal could never have been predicted by a mere mortal.
They need a clause if he ends up replacing Jodie Whittaker on Doctor Who.
That is the definition of an overpay, actually waaay tooo much overpaid, make no mistake about it, another contract to regret in Beantown sooner rather than later!
No it will be a bargain after next off season. As will Smarts deal.
Contracts go up, not down…
People never seem to get that very simple concept.
Agree with you. Williams looks like a young Clint Capela. Hard to find good interior players. Williams is entering the prime years. Celtics need size. $13.5 million per season is not outrageous. The Celtics didn’t overpay.
Yup.
– D Schroeder
Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng are the definition of overpay. Same with Josh Smith.
16ish mill a year for a young athletic starting center who rebounds and can switch on d? That’s far from an overpay. He’s got all the same qualities Bam has without the handle and jump shot. Plus he fits in the same time line with Tatum and Brown and compliments them perfectly. The celtics problem the last couple years was big name hunting and not just letting Tatum and Brown b the 2 stars. Should b a much different team this year in my opinion
Between this extension and the smart one and the fact they likely won’t want to get under the cap to lose their Fournier trade exception they can forget signing Bradley Beal if Beal even makes it to free agency! They have to hope wizards like their trade pieces ( the tpe can’t be part of it ) but no way can they present the best offer so now can’t present the threat of being able to sign him outright
Maybe Boston already knows that Beal isn’t leaving Washington. Beal and Tatum are tight.
They also had to do these deals regardless. Worry about Beal next year.
Trade is not for Beal . Think Wolves and Towns !
Wow 8 and 7 gets you paid. And people called Knicks stupid for stupid FA signings
8 ppg, 7 RPG, and 2 BPG in 18 minutes? Yes, that gets you paid.
Put it this way – guys getting 50+ mil deals used to play way more than 18 minutes per game, cause they were good and important for a team
Put it this way, he will play more than 18 minutes a game this year.
Used to? The salary cap used to be less too.
I don’t know which cliche applies more.
Fools and their money are soon to part.
or
Those that do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
Maybe both. 13 million a year for 18 minutes a game…the NBA better hope its bubble doesn’t burst anytime soon.
You think maybe they are planning on playing him more than 18 minutes a game in the future? Like maybe he is going to be their starting center? I mean his per was 25.7 and his winshares 5.3 last year.
I don’t know, you seem to know a lot more than me about basketball. I see things no one else sees.
I mean you would hope the Celtics are planning to play him more than 18mpg and that he stays healthy. Whether he stays that effective/efficient in a bigger role, and more importantly can stay healthy, is the real question. Either this will be a great bargain for them or they’ll regret giving $13.5m AAV to a guy who can’t stay on the court.
The big concern is not whether he gets more minutes (he will) but whether his production will scale up with minutes. Generally, unless players are going to be stars it doesn’t. In any case, they need him to play 28-32 min per game w/out getting turf toe and other injuries.
You think they’re paying him based off of what he did for 18 minutes a game, when any educated fan knows they’re paying him for what he did for 23+ mpg after they traded Theis and made him the starting center, when he showed what he’s really capable off when healthy and Plato g major minutes
hiflew, it’s…
A fool and his money are soon partying.
Says the guy who probably lets Curry walk due to his ankles and is soon fired thereafter.
Williams does not need to play every game or 32mpg in order to meet expectations. And it’s reasonable to expect he will be at least a little more healthy moving forward.
@hiflew – agreed. It’s an overpay and now he and Caruso are going to go out and party those dollars they received. Only in the NBA can you have one semi-decent year and get paid $54M for potential.
Any of you haters of this and the smart deal look at the FA class next off sesaon?
Oh yeah, nobody, if Smart or R. Williams or any competent player makes it to FA next season the prices will be sky high.
Celtics, Hornets and whomenver is locking people up now because eventually their deals will be bargains.
Might want to take a look at the 2022 FA class and who is left… and who has money to spend.
This deal and the Smart deal were made now to save money. I know I am crazy.
Talk to me when bench guys are getting 15-25 mill next season.
People dont get it. OH My LoRd. 13M for RoBert WilLiams.
No clue.
Everyone calling this an overpay doesn’t know what they’re talking about. It’s a gamble, but he’s been so good in limited minutes that it’s worth it. Take a look around the league at some of the salaries and compare it to this. Reggie Bullock got over $10 million a year. Doug McDermott got nearly $14 million a year. The list goes on. $13 million a year for a potential game-changer like Williams is nothing.
The only thing holding him back is health. Plus the cap will keep going up as well. This is a no-brainer deal because if he had stayed healthy in 2021-22 and played 20 minutes a game, his price would be way higher next year. It’s a calculated risk.
No, some of the people calling this an overpay just disagree with you. Just because people disagree with you doesn’t mean they are idiots and it doesn’t make them wrong.
You are generally a pretty good guy on here, but that is a very egotistical way of looking at things.
I think anyone calling Williams a “game-changer” is incorrect, but I am not going to belittle you for believing that.
You belittled me for saying Langford was a rotation player and said “No one” else thought he would be except for me.
Which was a really odd thing to say.
Then you complain when people say you’re wrong.
Grow up a little.
Didn’t you say the Celtics would get something of value besides a TPE + heavily protected 2nd (top 55?) for Hayward and mocked people who were actually right while you were wrong?
link to hoopsrumors.com
Yes. I am wrong all the time. Any other questions about things I typed a year ago?
I have questions as to why you’re calling out other users when you just admitted you’re wrong all the time.
Is this your first day on the Internet?
I can explain how things work if you need me to.
lmao dude, thanks for putting words in my mouth. I just said anyone calling this an overpay doesn’t know what they’re talking about. Never said anyone was an ‘idiot’ nor would I ever do that. I think you’re being a little sensitive here. I also said Williams is a “potential” game-changer, not that he already is one.
But regardless, I see the downsides everyone is posting about Williams and they’re legitimate. But imo, his potential and the low cost of the deal (relatively speaking; it’s insane money to you or I but it’s standard NBA money) make this more than worth the risk.
It’s a straight gamble predicated on his health. If he’s healthy, you come out way ahead. If not, you’re out $13 million each year over the next four years.
To put things into perspective, he’s getting paid like D Rose per year, though D Rose has won an MVP and helped take the Knicks to the playoffs while averaging a few shy of 20 ppg.
Sure, the kid has potential, but 54M worth…I think most folks are stating the risk is greater than the reward.
To put it in perspective Drose will be 33 next year, has a history of serious injury, and actually averaged 14 PPG last year, not” a few shy of 20ppg”
D-Rose averaged 19.4 in the playoffs… kind of when it matters!
Meanwhile R-Williams… kind of missed most of the playoff games by injury, per usual, right?
What a bizarre comment.
“Only thing holding him back is healthy…”
It’s the main requirement in order to earn a contract.
Drose played less games last year than Williams.
It’s not uncommon for guys in Williams spot (between their 3rd and 4th RSC years) to get extensions that reflect who they might grow into rather than who they currently are.
I find the timing of this deal more problematic than salary and years. Why now? Nothing is going to happen between now and the start of the season relating to cap perceptions or team-player leverage. There is an off season of trades and the like that invariably will change a bunch of things. It’s why no other player from his class, not a max player, hasn’t been extended yet. A changing landscape won’t change the Mavs-Doncic situation, but it might change the Celtic-Williams one. He went from a valuable tradable contract, to a poison pill that’s virtually impossible to use in a straightforward trade.
Williams is good for the occasional 3 to 4 minutes of decent play, then either gets hurt or gets into foul trouble. Not a guy you want banging with jojo.
3.8 fouls per 36 minutes would not put him in foul trouble that often. Giannis committed 3.7 per 36 and won the MVP.
TimeLord gives our Celtics a skill & a style we haven’t had but always wanted. (I don’t go back to Bill Russell.) He’s athletic & a springboard! Watch him block & change shots. Watch him go get ally-oop passes! Happy we’ve got him!
He got his money, Schroeder did not. Who’s smarter? My man is just securing his future. Have a nice day.
Win win contract
Mind-boggling. When Smart signed his, the writer said it was done early so that he could be traded away by the TD if Stevens wanted to. But Timelord signs days later and no mention of trading HIM away in half a year.
Posters get salty but nobody else mentions it.
Is Williams that much more popular or highly thought of than Smart? Or did I get defeated by the details again. Or Luke just noticed a different reporter. In which case… Yes I think he’s worth 13/yr. Just a dunker tho.
A player who signs a rookie scale extension can be traded immediately, unlike players who sign veteran extensions. However, there are poison pill provision rules that complicate any trade involving a player whose rookie scale extension hasn’t yet begun: link to hoopsrumors.com
In other words, if the Celtics wanted to trade Williams this season, it probably would’ve made more sense not to extend him at all.
Young guys, draft picks get paid on potential. Williams has developed and gotten much better for Boston. Right place right time. He’s a solid big for them. Now he just has to avg 30 mins. Personally to me I always saw him as an old school 4. Teams are moving away from traditional C starting 5s. Unless you have a real one Like Embiid, Joker.
It’s undoubtedly a good bet for Boston. Even if Williams never becomes a 32mpg/75+ games per year guy, if he can get to, say, 26mpg and 65+ games a year the Celtics should be able to breakeven. And, needless to say, the upside is much higher than that. Solid deal for all parties.
The Boston Celtics don’t have or recently had anyone like TimeLord. Al, Kanter, Tristan, Theis, Baynes, Grant, Tacko & on and on, no one else has the leaping ability that Robert Williams has. Also he’s young, 23, and just developing. He shot 72% from the field last year, many times he was 7 for 7 or the like. Rob also passes well and has a good jump shot which he’s just starting to use.