Even after the acquisition of Kristaps Porzingis, the door hasn’t been closed on a possible new contract for the Celtics and restricted free agent forward Grant Williams, sources tell Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com.
According to Bulpett, the Celtics and Williams have a good relationship and are interested in beginning negotiations with one another to see if a deal is financially feasible. If those discussions aren’t fruitful, the two sides could pivot to exploring sign-and-trade scenarios that would land Williams elsewhere and get Boston some sort of asset, even if it’s only a trade exception.
For his part, Williams said on Tuesday that he “absolutely” would be interested in re-signing with the Celtics while also acknowledging that the team’s payroll and the realities of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement could make it challenging, per Jay King of The Athletic.
“Cap-wise, with the new CBA, I think all these teams, as we see, are trying to get the trades in and the contracts done prior to the CBA truly being enacted,” Williams said. “So you’re going to see a lot of all-in pushes. So if the Celtics decide to do that, I think that’s kind of how it will work out (with him re-signing in free agency). If not, it helps them financially a little bit, but it definitely changes the numbers as you look around.”
Here are a few more notes and rumors on free agency from around the NBA:
- The Cavaliers will likely offer free agent swingman Caris LeVert a deal in the range of $15-18MM per year, sources tell Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required). As Fedor explains, the Cavs’ goal is to find the sweet spot where they’ll be able to outbid rival mid-level offers for LeVert while leaving themselves with enough breathing room below the tax line to use their own full mid-level exception.
- Appearing on ESPN’s Get Up on Wednesday, Brian Windhorst reiterated that James Harden seems more likely to sign with the Sixers than the Rockets as a free agent, according to Adam Zagoria of NJ.com. “(The Rockets) are out there aggressively chasing other free agents,” Windhorst said. “They are not acting as if they think they are getting James Harden.”
- Despite reports that Fred VanVleet will be a top target for the Rockets in free agency, Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter link) has spoken to several people around the league who are skeptical that the point guard will end up in Houston. The Raptors remain confident that they’ll be able to re-sign VanVleet, according to Lewenberg (Twitter link), who says the team’s plan is retain both VanVleet and Jakob Poeltl.
- After reporting earlier this week that the Kings‘ contract extension talks with Harrison Barnes had “gone quiet,” James Ham of The Kings Beat (Twitter link) hears from a league source that the two sides have reopened those discussions. Barnes is eligible for an extension until June 30. If he doesn’t have a new deal in place by then, the veteran forward would become an unrestricted free agent.
Really hope LeVert likes the idea of that kind of deal, because as a Cavs fan I’m not up for giving him more than that when he’s not a full time starter. The ideal offseason for me is re-signing LeVert to an affordable deal, signing another frontcourt player who can play when either Mobley or Allen is on the bench (hopefully with a 3pt shot) using the middy, and trading a package of Okoro and Osman for a true SF. Doesn’t even have to be a great one, just a steady one who can be on the court for 30 minutes a game.
I love Okoro’s defense and rim running and he’s shown true improvement each year as a shooter, but our options are limited. It’s either trade him or try and get a guy on a Vet minimum, because we desperately need a third big who can play big minutes. It’s either that or trade one of our core four, which I don’t like.
so for all the pascal, OG, van Cleef, Trent trade and sign and trade rumors, the raptors may basically run it back with the same squad and just a new coach and Dick?
Apparently? I guess they’re really banking on Scotty Barnes plus a full year of Poeltl? Maybe with an actual backup point guard this time? They were 15-11 once they got Poeltl, which is a 50 win pace, and they had a superior PPG differential during those 26 games compared to the rest of the season. If Scottie takes a step forward, Grady plays well, and they have a better gameplan moving forward, it could work out? But they’re not a championship-caliber team imo.
Considering how much they ask for OG or Siakam …… You’d think Siakam, OG, Poeltl, VanVleet would be a serious foursome in NBA.
Throw in Scotty.
Man !!!!!! This should be best starting 5 in NBA ……..
Yet every yr there are rumors of Siakam and OG being moved to save money. Raptors don’t want to win. They want to manage the salary cap. Some one should tell them. This business is a business of Winning. Not saving money ……
Toronto gets to play by very special rules because there is no competition near them. Kind of seeing the same thing with the Blue Jays and the MLB All-Star game.
By every metric, the Blue Jays are underperforming. Yet, someone in almost every position has made it to the 2nd phase of All-Star voting. Not because they’re all incredible players, but because they have an entire country supporting the team, not just the 50-100 mille radius of their home court.
The Raptors don’t have to be good to make lots of money. They just need to play. Im sure jersey sales of hometown favorites like Spicy, OG, and FVV probably look more appealing than an attempt at a full rebuild.
Yeah I get that. The whole country is behind them. Imo if this team had a true PG. Like a young CP3. They would be dangerous. They should be using VanVleet in a three way (even with OG). To bring in Giddey. He makes everyone better. And is till getting better. See what Haliburton has done in Indiana.
Giddy on the Raptors makes them a solid playoff team for sure. I think Barnes lack of progression this year has put them in a weird spot. Doesn’t help that Ujiri refuses to lose a trade. Flipping FVV at the deadline last year would’ve helped them tremendously and set them up for a retool or reload rather than a decision about a tear down.
I mean they did just win the ship less then 5 years ago
Grant Williams is a guy they can’t afford to lose in free agency. They need to figure out how to keep him. Even if they have to part ways with Al Horford. I love Al Horford but he’s getting long in the tooth!!!!!!!!!
Cleveland Cavaliers need to be careful what type of deal they give Caris LeVert. Is a 6th man in the NBA. They really need a nice versatile small forward.
Fred VanVleet is a guy I would love to see be brought back by the Toronto Raptors. I think the Toronto Raptors can be a very dangerous team. It’s some nice pieces over there.
Harrison Barnes is a solid role player but they need to upgrade that position.
I kind of get it because Toronto hasn’t been a FA destination really ever, so they’re heavily dependent on their home grown guys to either carry them or become trade pieces for them. Especially since they don’t have a first next year unless they land in the top 6. So from their perspective it makes sense to try to win for one more year before blowing it up. Especially since if they did now they’d have just wasted that pick they traded for Poeltl.
EDIT: Whoops, this was meant to be a response to Al. My bad!
Yeah but it’s been the same for yrs now. At some point you have to go with what you got. Like I said a true PG makes this team much better. And they have the assets to get one. But they always overvalue their players. It’s like they are gun shy …….
Probably don’t want to deal with long stretches of irrelevance like they did when Carter and Bosh each left town. It’s great on paper to get a bunch of draft assets, but those are almost never a sure thing. They only appear that way in hindsight. Heck, they experienced that themselves with Bargnani turning into a bust after grabbing him first overall. Sure, we know now that he wasn’t that good, but he was compared to Drik as a prospect and that was an attractive idea.
I think Toronto’s FO feels like “we can still get a decent set of assets if we delay till the trade deadline or the end of the year”, even if trading their guys now and building around Barnes is probably the right move. They’re gun shy because they’ve shot themselves in the foot before, imo. Though you’re right that they could be making a mistake, I honestly agree that they should be moving on.
TOR has good talented players, but a poorly constructed roster. It would seem that, if you have to have a problem, this would be a good problem to have, or one that’s easy to fix. But, with modern NBA FO’s, it’s rarely the case. They don’t like, and aren’t good at, making trades based on fit, particularly if it involves moving good players that they acquired. Ujiri is typical in this regard. His post season PC made clear that he still loves the roster he assembled, and would prefer to blame any poor results on peripheral things (the HC, team spirit, etc.) vs the roster’s inherently poor chemistry. At some point a non-basketball reason for a trade (trade demand, contract, cap or tax issue or other CYA event) will surface and that’s probably when a trade will be made.
Let him leave. This team and city gave Van Vleet a chance when literally no other team wanted him. If he wants to chase every last dollar and cent he can get, good riddance. He owes Toronto and the Raptors way more than they/we owe him.