The Boston Celtics have some tough roster-building decisions to make in light of the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that punishes ball clubs with expensive rosters like the Celtics currently possess, but based on recent reporting from Heavy’s Steve Bulpett, Boston believes they won’t have to choose between star wing Jaylen Brown and reserve forward Grant Williams.
Per Bulpett, unnamed NBA executives, the Celtics, “not wishing to engage in a game of roster Jenga, will find a way to retain both” Brown and Williams on a new deal. “I hear fans up there are debating whether to give Brown the supermax (five years, $290 million), but at some point, the numbers don’t really matter,” said one GM of Brown.
“He’s ready to knock it down when they swing it to him, and he defends and rebounds,” said an anonymous coach of another team of Williams. “Finding those guys is becoming harder and harder.”
To get a better read on what the Celtics may be facing, we brought on fHoopsHype cap expert Yossi Gozlan. https://t.co/GSN0fNHJKI
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) June 5, 2023
The Celtics could well need to overpay Williams and figure out the Georgia native’s situation after inking him to the supermax, but however Boston elects to proceed, there will likely be cuts in spending elsewhere.
So far Malcolm Brogdon — as good as he was for the Celtics — could end up being the odd man out in such a move given Boston’s considerable guard depth. Whatever ends up happening, the likelihood of non-minor change on this roster is all but assured moving forward.
Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi
YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ