Cameron Johnson is the better basketball player of the two, but Williams is likely to be the best bet for us. Johnson will get Brunson money, I wouldn’t be shocked if he gets $30m/year offers. GW can be had at $15-20m/year, and might accept a shorter deal (3 years guaranteed, TO for 4th year). He is the better defender, which is our main need for improvement. He is also 2.5 years younger than Johnson. He brings more grit, more toughness, more definition to a team identity. His next contract will probably have less downside than Cam’s, given projected duration and salary. He gives us more team-building flexibility; signing him would still leave us with max cap room both this summer and next. That won’t be the case if we spend $110-120m on CJ. With CJ we will be limited on which other FA we can make a move for.
He hasn’t played much in the playoffs but folks saw it tonight; he’s a dawg. Shooting? Check. Defense? Check. i don’t want to overpay, but this is a restricted free agent we can sign away from Boston on a reasonable deal. He’s young and he’s competitive and he’ll fit in well with Jabari and Tari. It’s a good use of money. He played his best ball last year under Ime. I know he likes him a lot. He fills a real need. This is gonna happen.
the way I look at it, Boston wanting Grant Williams on Jimmy says a lot. But Jimmy gonna be Jimmy Harden wishes he was Jimmy btw I still see Grant Williams as a high-level rotational player; not necessarily a 82-game starter. But if we are using a lot of our cap space on Harden, we’re going to have to add other vets at the $15 mil range to be competitive, and that’s in addition to hopefully pulling off a trade that consolidates a bunch of our assets into another solid piece.
Would love to add him and Bev (and Scoot, best case scenario) just to get some attitude and toughness with our young core. Jalen could use several people with their mindset along with Ime (and Jabari), who has the perfect basketball mentality.
He played well but Jimmy might be in his head. Interesting to see how he handles the next games. He could become a Mazulla casualty though if there’s no adjustment.
It’s Udoka’s call really, he should know him better than anyone posting here. So let’s sit back on this one, I say.
I actually like that he went at Jimmy Butler. Media is giving him flack for "waking up" Butler and poking the bear but I didn't see any other Celtics players showing heart or pride. It looks like Celtics fans are angrier at Mazzulla, Brown, and Tatum than Grant.
Grant Williams could work. I also like Bruce Brown as a guy who should cost less than Cam Johnson or Austin Reaves. In any case, a really good defensive wing who can hit some 3s is definitely what the doctor ordered in free agency.
I see him more as a combo forward who can guard the 3 and the 4, it would be great to have a guy (like Brown) who can really shore up our defense in the backcourt as well
Looking at Boston’s cap space and guaranteed salaries, they can’t afford to match a reasonable offer sheet for Grant Williams. Stealing restricted free agents gives me a warm feeling. Whereas Reaves and Cam are going to be very hard to get, Grant Williams is probably the most likely RFA on the move this summer.
