In a move that does not come without risk for either side, the Boston Celtics and reserve forward Grant Williams have allowed the deadline for a contract extension to pass. The former Tennessee player will enter restricted free agency at the end of the 2022-23 NBA season.
While there are few teams who would likely have the cap space to exceed offers at or near the full midlevel exception next season, it only takes one to force Boston to match the offer or lose Williams for nothing. From the team perspective, the few teams that could afford to make such an offer will likely be teams fighting to make the postseason or worse, and the Celtics would retain the right of first refusal.
Neither side wants to contemplate an injury to the former Vol in light of his importance to the team, but that is also a risk Williams takes on by eschewing the guaranteed money an extension would have provided.
Boston Celtics release new Bill Russell-inspired 2022-23 City Edition jerseys https://t.co/pDGRxPlgJb
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) October 17, 2022
Per The Athletic’s Jared Weiss, the Celtics and Williams “made progress over the past few days in negotiations, but were not able to come to an agreement” about an extension.
No surprise for either side given the goals of each, now both are charged with not distracting from their priorities for the 2022-23 season with what will come after it.
Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi
