- Joe Mazzulla, thrust into the Celtics‘ head coaching job less than a month ago after Ime Udoka was suspended for the season, looked ready for the big stage in Boston’s opening night victory over Philadelphia, writes Jared Weiss of The Athletic. “From the start of the game, his confidence, you could see, is oozing out,” guard Marcus Smart said. “Usually, most coaches are trying to figure things out, and he comes right in like he’s doing it for years.” Jaylen Brown agreed with Smart’s assessment: “Joe is tough as nails. Even when in the midst of everything, all the turmoil, when you looked into his eyes, you could tell he was ready.”
Celtics forward Grant Williams was one of the 13 players eligible for a rookie scale extension who didn’t sign a new deal before Monday’s deadline. Speaking to Jay King of The Athletic, Williams said it would’ve been nice to lock in some long-term security, but that he and the C’s ultimately couldn’t find common ground.
“I wasn’t moving off of what I wanted,” Williams said. “And I don’t think they were either.”
Multiple reports leading up to the extension deadline indicated that a new deal for Williams was unlikely. He was believed to be seeking a long-term commitment in the range of $14-16MM per year, while the Celtics were unwilling to go that high.
Although the two sides couldn’t work anything out, Williams said he has no hard feelings about how the negotiations played out and hopes to remain in Boston going forward, adding that he’s “thankful for the opportunity” the club has given him.
Interestingly, Williams – who is a vice president of the National Basketball Players Association – said one important factor in his decision was that he felt a responsibility not to take a below-market contract that could hurt his fellow players in their own negotiations.
“When you look across the league, when you look at the role that I play in the Players’ Association, the idea is that you understand where the league is going in the future and you understand where the league is currently at,” Williams told King. “So for me it wasn’t a matter of life-changing money, it was a matter of value not only for this year but the years to come.
“I think that for both sides, we all negotiated to get to that point. And there was no ill will, there were no frustrations. It was one of those things that you just couldn’t come to terms. It doesn’t mean that a deal doesn’t get done next year, it doesn’t mean a deal won’t get done in the future.
“So for us, it’s just a matter of perspective. Like, I want to make sure that not only the deal that I take is something that I feel confident about, but it’s something that it doesn’t mess up the guys around me, it doesn’t mess up the market for the guys who do the things that I do.”
Williams will be eligible for restricted free agency next summer, at which time the Celtics will have the ability to match any offers he receives from other teams, assuming they issue him a qualifying offer.
Celtics big man Robert Williams, who continues to recover from an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee, received a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection in that knee on Monday to promote healing and recovery, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic.
After Williams underwent the procedure, the Celtics announced on September 23 that he was expected to resume basketball activities in about eight-to-12 weeks. However, Charania suggests that Boston’s starting center is unlikely to return until the second half of the season. That would mean Williams would remain sidelined into the new year — the Celtics will reach the halfway point of their regular season schedule on January 9.
For their part, the Celtics say they don’t anticipate a change in Williams’ recovery timeline, tweets Steve Hewitt of The Boston Herald.
Williams, who celebrated his 25th birthday on Monday, initially underwent surgery on the knee in March after tearing his meniscus. He was able to return to the court less than a month later and played a part in the Celtics’ run to the NBA Finals, but he wasn’t at 100% in the postseason. He sat out five games in the second and third rounds of the playoffs and reportedly required extensive treatment as he dealt with fluid build-up.
As Charania notes, the hope was that Williams would be OK by the fall, but he experienced discomfort when he began ramping up for training camp, prompting him and the team to decide he required another procedure.
Williams is entering the first season of a four-year extension he signed with Boston a year ago. He’ll earn a base salary of approximately $10.7MM, but will almost certainly miss out on a series of bonuses that he can only trigger by appearing in at least 69 games this season.
As for the Celtics, they’ll get by during Williams’ absence in the first half by leaning more heavily on frontcourt players like Al Horford, Grant Williams, Blake Griffin, Luke Kornet, and Noah Vonleh.
Several notable fourth-year NBA players who were eligible for rookie scale contract extension agreements did not come to terms with their current clubs, and will now enter restricted free agency next summer with the extension deadline having passed.
Adrian Wojnarowksi of ESPN reports (via Twitter) that newly-promoted Suns starting power forward Cameron Johnson, Hornets forward P.J. Washington, and Celtics forward Grant Williams all failed to reach extension deals with their respective clubs.
With former Phoenix starting four Jae Crowder demanding his way out of town, it would have perhaps behooved the Suns to lock up Johnson to a long-term deal, but the team’s ownership situation could have made figuring out an agreement difficult. Williams had an erratic postseason for Boston during the team’s Finals run. Washington could get some additional run this season with the availability of forward Miles Bridges up in the air.
A source informs Christian Clark of NOLA.com (Twitter link) that Pelicans center Jaxson Hayes did not ultimately reach an agreement on a contract extension with New Orleans. Clark suggested that Hayes and his team would most likely resume negotiations when the big man reaches restricted free agency next summer, so it appears New Orleans does hope to keep him aboard.
Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets that Sixers swingman Matisse Thybulle similarly did not agree to an extension with Philadelphia, and is now set to reach restricted free agency in the summer of 2023. Thybulle is a terrific perimeter defender, but his offensive limitations impede his value.
Even though Wizards GM Tommy Sheppard and head coach Wes Unseld Jr. gave him positive preseason performance reviews, forward Rui Hachimura also will now enter restricted free agency in the 2023 offseason, reports Ava Wallace of The Washington Post (Twitter link).
Knicks forward Cam Reddish, the tenth pick in the 2019 draft, did not get an extension from New York, his second NBA team, The Athletic’s Fred Katz reports (via Twitter). Katz notes that an agreement was not anticipated. Reddish struggled to carve out rotation minutes when the Hawks traded him to the Knicks, even though the team was clearly lottery-bound near the end of the 2021/22 season.
Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link). reports that, in another anticipated move, combo guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker did not reach an extension agreement with the Jazz.
Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago writes that the Bulls also opted to not extend reserve guard Coby White, the seventh pick in the 2019 draft. Schaefer notes that, though Chicago considered trade offers for the 22-year-old out of UNC, the team eventually decided to not move him.
White will compete for minutes in a crowded backcourt that includes starting point guard Ayo Dosunmu and starting shooting guard Zach LaVine, plus reserves Alex Caruso and Goran Dragic. If Lonzo Ball returns from a recent knee surgery, he would supplant Dosunmu in the starting lineup, and further dilute White’s minutes load.
Here’s the full list of players eligible for rookie scale extensions who didn’t sign new deals before Monday’s 5:00 pm CT deadline:
- Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Jazz)
- Darius Bazley (Thunder)
- Goga Bitadze (Pacers)
- Rui Hachimura (Wizards)
- Jaxson Hayes (Pelicans)
- Cameron Johnson (Suns)
- Romeo Langford (Spurs)
- Cam Reddish (Knicks)
- Matisse Thybulle (Sixers)
- P.J. Washington (Hornets)
- Coby White (Bulls)
- Grant Williams (Celtics)
- Dylan Windler (Cavaliers)
Extension-eligible veterans on expiring contracts remain eligible to sign new contracts throughout the season, while extension-eligible vets with multiple years left on their contracts can extend their deals up until 10:59 pm CT tonight.
Though the roster deadline has passed and every team is in compliance, that doesn’t mean there will be no additional moves tonight and tomorrow before the games begin. That said, in general, team rosters are set with the 2022/23 season set to tip off on Tuesday.
Luke Adams contributed to this report.
Timberwolves guard D’Angelo Russell is about to begin the final season of the four-year contract he signed in 2019, and will be eligible to sign an extension anytime up until June 30, 2023, the day before he reaches free agency. However, Brian Windhorst of ESPN and Darren Wolfson of SKOR North and 5 Eyewitness News suggested during the latest episode of Wolfson’s The Scoop podcast that an extension for Russell probably isn’t around the corner.
“I have not heard any discussion of him getting an extension,” Windhorst said, per RealGM.
Wolfson agreed, adding, “I think (Russell’s) representation has reached out to the Wolves, but it doesn’t seem like it’s being reciprocated.”
The Timberwolves already have significant financial commitments to Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert on their books for the next several years, and will likely be signing Anthony Edwards to a lucrative long-term contract next summer, so it makes sense that the team would be unwilling to work out a big new deal with Russell before assessing how all the pieces fit together this season.
Here are a few more extension-related notes from around the NBA:
- Celtics forward Grant Williams, extension-eligible for a few more hours, recently spoke to Brian Robb of MassLive.com about the possibility of getting a new deal. Williams shared some interesting insights, including explaining why he doesn’t view recently extended power forwards like Larry Nance Jr. and Maxi Kleber as direct comparables. “It’s one of those things like — you look at guys across the league, they maybe play different roles and a different situation,” Williams said. “You bring up Nance Jr. with the Pelicans and he’s probably their ninth or 10th man. They are one of the teams that are on the edge of making a run. Similar to Kleber’s, who is 30. He doesn’t necessarily have the versatility, the guarding — I try my best not to look at those guys. I just feel like you make your own market and understand your value.”
- Brandon Clarke‘s four-year contract extension with the Grizzlies, reported to be worth $52MM, actually has a base value of $50MM, with $2MM in total incentives ($500K per year), tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic. The deal features four flat annual cap hits of $12.5MM, adds ESPN’s Bobby Marks (via Twitter).
- Warriors guard Jordan Poole, who officially signed a four-year, $123MM+ extension on Sunday, told reporters that he “couldn’t stop smiling” when he put pen to paper on his new deal, as Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic writes. Poole didn’t have much to say about his practice altercation with Draymond Green, downplaying the impact he expects the incident to have going forward: “He apologized and we’re professionals. We plan on handling ourselves that way.”
This is the sixth installment in our series examining players who are prime candidates for contract extensions. This series will explore the player’s strengths and weaknesses, and will evaluate what a fair deal between the player and his team might look like. We’re continuing today with a look at a power forward who had a breakout third season as a two-way contributor.
Rundown:
The No. 22 overall pick of the 2019 draft after three seasons at Tennessee, Grant Williams had a minor role as a rookie for a Celtics team that nearly reached the NBA Finals, ultimately falling to Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals in six games. In 69 games (15.1 MPG), Williams averaged 3.4 PPG and 2.6 RPG on .412/.250/.722 shooting (.505 true shooting percentage).
In 2020/21, Williams’ second season, he made progress as a shooter, a very important aspect of his role for Boston. His averages – 4.7 PPG and 2.8 RPG on .437/.372/.588 shooting (.546 true) in 63 games (18.1 MPG) – were still fairly modest, but the 12.2% increase in three-point percentage was encouraging.
In year three, Williams emerged as a solid member of Boston’s rotation, averaging 7.8 PPG and 3.6 RPG on a sparkling .475/.411/.905 shooting slash line (.635 true) in 77 games (21 starts, 24.4 MPG).
He had an even bigger playoff role during the Celtics’ run to the Finals, averaging 8.6 PPG and 3.8 RPG on .433/.393/.808 shooting (.599 true) in 24 games (27.3 MPG).
Strengths:
At 6’6” and a listed weight of 236 pounds, Williams has a low center of gravity and is physically very strong (Michael Scotto of HoopsHype was told that Williams was 280 pounds in the playoffs and had dropped to 265 as of October 6). Anyone who watched him (mostly) hold his ground while defending Giannis Antetokounmpo in the post during their second-round series last season can attest to Williams’ strength.
Williams is a solid defender at power forward and can switch at times onto bigger wings and smaller centers. Opponents shot 1.2% worse than their expected field goal percentage in the ‘21/22 regular season with Williams as the closest defender and 4.5% worse than expected in the playoffs, per NBA.com – both above-average marks.
The 23-year-old has improved tremendously as an outside shooter over his three professional seasons, both in terms of volume and efficiency. Nearly 60% of Williams’ shots last season came from behind the arc, up from 45% as a rookie and 51% in year two. He doesn’t exactly look “natural” when he’s shooting, but the fact that he’s become so efficient is a testament to his work ethic and willingness to improve – those are more important factors than natural talent in my opinion, especially for a role player.
Since the Celtics rely so much on stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown for offense, with ball movement the key to finding open looks when they’re inevitably faced with a help defender, the grand majority of Williams’ three-point looks came via catch-and-shoot last season. He converted 1.3 of those 3.1 attempts per game, good for 41.7%, per NBA.com. He also converted an impressive 46.8% of his corner threes in ‘21/22 – an important shot for floor spacing.
Williams isn’t known for his athleticism, but he has good timing for blocking shots — his 2.7% block percentage ranked in the 78th percentile last season, per DunksAndThrees.com. He can also do damage down low on the offensive end, though it was very low volume – he shot 68% at the rim in ‘21/22, which was 84th percentile.
Interestingly, Williams has shown a face-up game and the ability to attack defenders off the dribble a little bit via shot fakes during the preseason. We’ll see if that carries over to the regular season, but it’s an encouraging sign that he’s been working on his game and is self-aware enough to know that he needs to be a little more well-rounded offensively.
Improvement Areas:
While Williams generally does pretty well defending bigger players, he sometimes struggles to stay in front of shiftier guards due to his lack of length and quickness. He also can be susceptible to blow-bys when closing out on shooters due to his lack of foot speed.
Neither of those things are unusual for a power forward, but improving on them would help him stay on the court in more difficult matchups (the Warriors exploited both of those weaknesses rather mercilessly in the Finals, which is one reason why his minutes were reduced to 17.0 per game in that series after averaging 29.7 or more in the three previous rounds).
For a big man, Williams is a below-average rebounder, pulling down just 5.3 boards per 36 minutes last season. His relative lack of size and athleticism hurts in that aspect as well, even though he’s a willing contributor on the boards who chases after loose balls.
His three-point improvement definitely seems legitimate, but a lot of his value on offense is tied to converting his open looks to keep opposing defenses honest, and if he’s off that day he hasn’t provided much else on that end. And as good as his outside shooting was last season, his shot is pretty slow and deliberate, so he needs space to get it off. Adding a reliable pump fake and relocation dribble would help.
I was surprised to learn that Williams’ assist rate was an alarmingly low 6% last season, and his turnover rate was 12%, per DunksAndThrees. His overall assist-to-turnover ratio was only 1.25-to-1, which isn’t awful for a big man, but it’s certainly not good.
The reason those findings were surprising is because Williams has displayed soft touch as a passer and can make plays for others in the limited opportunities he’s given. His handle is a little loose sometimes, but I still expected both figures to be better than they were in ‘21/22.
Conclusion:
Three-and-D players always have value, especially when they can guard multiple positions. In Williams’ case, that’s the three frontcourt spots. As long as he can keep making 40% of his three-pointers, there’s no doubt that he’s going to get paid, it’s just a matter of how much.
It’s difficult to find players to compare Williams to because of his unique build and skill set. Perhaps the closest comps you can find for Williams currently are Jae Crowder and P.J. Tucker, a couple of short, stocky power forwards who provide versatile defense, energy, toughness, and some outside shooting. Both of those players received three-year deals at the non-taxpayer mid-level exception in recent years – for ‘22/23, that would max out at four years and $45,107,000.
Williams is worth more than that, even if he wasn’t a starter on a very good team like those two veterans were last season. For one, he won’t turn 24 years old until November 30, while Crowder is 32 and Tucker is 37. If they were Williams’ age, they would’ve landed bigger paydays.
Secondly, Williams has shown more potential as a finisher and a shooter than his elder counterparts. His .635 true shooting percentage in ‘21/22 was a higher mark than Crowder (.613 in ‘16/17) or Tucker (.593 last season) has ever posted.
Multiple reports have indicated Williams is seeking a deal in the $14-16MM range annually, and Boston has thus far been reluctant to go that high. It seems like the reason for that is more because the Celtics are a taxpaying team that already has multiple players signed to lucrative long-term contracts rather than not valuing Williams.
I can see both sides of the argument here. Paying a bench player who only averaged 7.8 points and 3.6 rebounds in ‘21/22 at least $14MM per season seems like a lot. On the other hand, the skill set he provides is coveted around the league, and replacing him would be very difficult due to financial constraints.
If the two sides are unable to reach an extension, Williams would become a restricted free agent next summer. Boston would have the leverage in that scenario because they can match any offer, and it’s rare for rival teams to sign role players to offer sheets since it ties up cap room for multiple days.
If a theoretical new deal still isn’t signed at that point, Williams could accept his qualifying offer and hit unrestricted free agency in 2024, but he’d potentially lose money in the short-term because the QO would almost certainly be less than the first year of an extension. That might be his best bet for landing a big payday from an opposing team.
Having said that, there’s no indication Williams wants to leave the Celtics, nor that they want to lose him. With Robert Williams injured to start the season, and Danilo Gallinari out for the year with a torn ACL, Grant Williams should have an opportunity for a larger role, and if he puts up big numbers on a title contender, he could substantially increase his value.
Ultimately, I think the low end of his rumored asking price (four years, $56MM) is pretty fair for an extension. It’s a little more than I’d prefer to pay him if I were running the Celtics, but it’s not unreasonable since the salary cap is expected to continually rise over the duration of the deal. If the two sides don’t reach a deal today, it will be interesting to monitor Williams’ performance during the ‘22/23 season to see if he can increase his value even further.
After converting Michael Foster Jr. to a two-way deal, the Sixers have an opening on their 15-man roster, and it sounds like the team doesn’t plan to fill that opening right away.
“We believe there’s a lot of guys out there that may become available,” Sixers head coach Doc Rivers said (Twitter link via Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer). “We wanted to make sure we had a spot.”
Even if Philadelphia doesn’t end up finding a free agent or trade target to fill that 15th spot anytime soon, keeping it open will allow the team to maximize its financial flexibility. The Sixers are a few million dollars below their hard cap and have a chance to duck out of luxury tax territory altogether if they trim a little salary during the season.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- The chances of Fred VanVleet or Pascal Siakam signing a contract extension with the Raptors before the regular season begins appear slim, according to Doug Smith of The Toronto Star (Twitter link). VanVleet could still negotiate an in-season extension if he turns down his 2023/24 player option, whereas Siakam would be ineligible to sign an extension until next summer if he doesn’t receive one by opening night.
- In a full story for The Toronto Star, Smith writes that Justin Champagnie earned the Raptors‘ 15th roster spot almost by default. Champagnie was sidelined for most of the preseason due to a hip injury, but the other challengers – D.J. Wilson, Josh Jackson, and Gabe Brown – didn’t do much in training camp or the preseason to stand out and seize the final regular season roster spot.
- Newly added free agent point guard Jalen Brunson has been everything the Knicks could’ve hoped for so far, according to Zach Braziller of The New York Post, who writes that Brunson’s selfless play seemed to be rubbing off on the other starters during the preseason. “It’s clear as day the impact he’s had on the team,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said.
- Former NBA assistant Will Weaver, who is now coaching Paris Basketball in France, loves what he has seen from Celtics draft-and-stash prospect Juhann Begarin so far this fall, according to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops. “We all witnessed it today,” Weaver said on Sunday after Begarin scored 28 points in a loss to AS Monaco. “Juhann Begarin is an NBA player. He can make an impact in Boston.” The Celtics drafted Begarin with the 45th overall pick in 2021 and continue to hold his NBA rights.
The Sixers have recently had “brief” conversations with Matisse Thybulle‘s agent Aaron Goodwin about a possible rookie scale extension for the All-Defensive wing, reports Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. The deadline for teams to sign players to rookie scale extensions is Monday at 5:00 pm Central time.
Thybulle’s defensive talent makes him a potentially intriguing long-term building block, but his limited contributions on offense reduce his value and raise questions about whether the Sixers would be comfortable making a long-term commitment to him.
According to Haynes, Thybulle spent the offseason working on improving and expanding his offensive game. Still, the Sixers may want another season to assess whether or not they think the 25-year-old can become an average or above-average offensive player. He’d be eligible for restricted free agency next summer if he doesn’t sign a new deal by Monday’s deadline.
Here are a couple more updates related to possible rookie scale extensions:
- As of Saturday, the Celtics and Grant Williams remained at an impasse in their contract extension negotiations, sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. According to Scotto, Williams would likely be willing to accept a deal in the range of $14-15MM per year, but it’s unclear if Boston is prepared to go that high. Scotto’s report is right in line with what we heard on Williams from Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe on Thursday.
- Knicks forward Cam Reddish won’t sign an extension before Monday’s deadline, a source tells Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News (Twitter link). That’s hardly shocking news, since it remains to be seen whether Reddish will even have a regular rotation role in New York this season, let alone a long-term future with the franchise.
- In addition to Thybulle, Williams, and Reddish, there are 14 other players still eligible for rookie scale extensions. The full list can be found right here. In case you missed it, our Rory Maher specifically examined what new deals might look like for Suns sharpshooter Cameron Johnson (link), Hawks wing De’Andre Hunter (link), and Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke (link).
The Hawks, Mavericks, Celtics, Thunder, and Spurs have each waived a player who had been under contract on a non-guaranteed training camp deal, per NBA.com’s transaction log. Those cuts are as follows:
- Atlanta Hawks: Jared Rhoden
- Boston Celtics: Marial Shayok
- Dallas Mavericks: Grant Riller
- Oklahoma City Thunder: Scotty Hopson
- San Antonio Spurs: Jalen Adaway
In each of these cases, the player’s stint on his team’s roster was short-lived and his deal was aimed at either securing his G League rights or ensuring that he receives a bonus worth up to $50K for returning to his old NBAGL team this season.
Adaway’s Exhibit 10 agreement with the Spurs was reported in August, but wasn’t actually completed until today — by the time we knew he had officially signed his contract, he had already been cut.
The Hawks, Celtics, and Mavericks are now in compliance with the NBA’s regular season roster limit. Atlanta and Dallas each have 14 players on standard contracts, while Boston has 15. The Mavs are expected to add Facundo Campazzo as a 15th man before the regular season begins next week.
The Thunder and Spurs still have more moves to make before their regular season rosters are set. Both teams are expected to waive players with guaranteed contracts, so there was no need to finalize those moves today, as we explained on Saturday morning.
Lakers sharpshooter Matt Ryan will survive today’s cuts and is on track to be part of the team’s opening night roster next week, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Ryan is one of a handful of players on non-guaranteed training camp contracts confirmed to be making their teams’ respective rosters. Celtics forward Justin Jackson will survive the cut in Boston, according to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter link), while Knicks guard Ryan Arcidiacono will do the same in New York, tweets Ian Begley of SNY.tv.
Ryan perhaps solidified his spot on the Lakers’ regular season roster with his performance in last Sunday’s preseason game, when he poured in hit six three-pointers and poured in 20 points. He’s one of three L.A. players on non-guaranteed contracts who is seemingly on track to make the regular season roster, along with Austin Reaves and Wenyen Gabriel.
It’s a similar situation in Boston, where Jackson appears poised to join Noah Vonleh and Luke Kornet as Celtics whose deals are mostly or fully non-guaranteed. Jackson seemingly beat out Jake Layman for the 15th spot on the roster.
As for Arcidiacono, this will be the second straight season he has began on a non-guaranteed contract with New York. The Knicks have 13 players on fully guaranteed deals, so they’ll be able to keep one more player in addition to Arcidiacono, assuming they carry a full 15-man roster. Svi Mykhailiuk looks like the favorite to be that player.