Fans of the Boston Celtics might be surprised to learn their starting center does not crack the top 10 of HoopsHype’s most valuable centers in terms of trade value. Considering he has one of the cap-friendliest contracts in the league and what the former Texas A&M player can do on a basketball court, that surprise would be justified.
However, the panel of experts making such an assessment had grave and legitimate concerns about Timelord’s availability, which explains why Robert Williams III checks in as the 14th-most valuable 5 in the league in their estimation. “Williams’ value is intriguing to gauge” writes HoopsHype.
“On one hand, he’s been invaluable for the Celtics in their finals run and will earn just over the mid-level exception,” they suggest.
It was not that long ago that the consensus was that the Celtics needed Timelord in top form to truly be a contender for the 2023 NBA Championship. https://t.co/UHNF1Ao4CS
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) December 1, 2022
“At the same time, his availability has been poor, and he’s missed time at the worst possible stretches,” continues H/H, referencing Williams’ meniscal tear at the end of the 2021-22 season.
At any rate, we do not expect Boston to even consider dealing the big man any time soon, which makes the exercise largely a moot one.
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