Celtics Rumors: Teams 'Will Be Interested' in Grant Williams Contract Offer Sheets

As Grant Williams is set to become a restricted free agent this offseason, the Boston Celtics have the right to match any deal he agrees to with another team. However, it sounds like it won't be easy to retain the power forward.

Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com reports there is a belief that Williams, who was left out of the rotation for five of Boston's playoff games before they lost to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, is likely to be pursued by multiple teams looking to pry him away from the Celtics by signing him to an offer sheet that would be difficult to match.

"I'm not the only one waiting to see how he approaches this," a league executive told Bulpett. "He may look at those [five] DNPs in the playoffs and wonder about his future in Boston. Does he try to get an offer sheet structured to make it hard for Boston to match? I know there are teams that will be interested in helping that along."

In his 15 postseason appearances, Williams averaged just 5.1 points and 2.2 rebounds, down from his regular-season averages of 8.1 points and 4.6 rebounds. While he's known for bringing an edge to the Celtics defense, he had a notable moment where he antagonized Heat star Jimmy Butler and it backfired, as Miami erased a double-digit fourth-quarter deficit to steal Game 2 at TD Garden.

Despite his disappointing performance in the playoffs, Williams is still viewed favorably around the league. He provided Boston with defense, rebounding and frontcourt depth. Losing the 24-year-old could be detrimental to the Celtics' hopes of avenging this season's playoff exit next year.

"All I know is that he filled a number of different roles for them, and other teams are seeing the same thing," the league exec added. "It's going to be interesting to see how Boston deals with him, because it might say a lot about what they think they need to do to get past a playoff loss that never should have happened."