Celtics Rumors: Grant Williams Turned Down 4-Year Contract Offer in $50M Range
Boston Celtics forward Grant Williams is known for not being short on confidence, but he might have overplayed his hand prior to this season.
According to The Athletic's Jared Weiss, Williams had the opportunity to cash in on a contract extension but turned it down.
"Williams' representatives and the team discussed an extension before the season that could have reached the low-$50 million range over four seasons but could not agree on the guarantee structure, league sources with knowledge of the negotiations said," Weiss stated.
A first-round pick out of Tennessee in 2019, Williams is a key rotation player for Boston, but he hasn't made much progress in his fourth NBA season. In his 64 appearances this year, he's averaging 8.4 points and 4.8 rebounds in a career-high 27.3 minutes while shooting 40.8 percent from beyond the arc.
Weiss further explained how Williams' overconfidence might come back to bite him, stating, "When the season began, Williams had turned down an extension offer and was flexing his newfound ability to attack closeouts with creativity. He was in the best groove of his career, looking like a flush market was waiting for him in free agency. But things have gone south since, coincidentally timed with a report Williams is seeking up to $20 million annually, per Marc Stein."
The 24-year-old has fallen under a microscope this week after an overtime loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in which he missed two potential game-winning free throws after declaring he would make both to Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell.
Weiss noted that league sources told him Williams "has been struggling with a ligament strain in his shooting elbow exacerbated by inflammation in the surrounding muscle" since last month. However, he reportedly didn't blame the missed free throws on the injury and "he just blew them."
While Williams has struggled, more of his minutes have gone to Mike Muscala and Sam Hauser as floor-spacing bigs in Boston's frontcourt. The Celtics will need all their rotational pieces to be firing on all cylinders if they want to make another deep playoff run this year.
Boston (45-21) will look to end a three-game skid when it hosts the Portland Trail Blazers (31-34) on Wednesday night.
