The Boston Celtics have reportedly been giving off signals they intend to keep restricted free agent Grant Williams around if possible according to new reporting from Substack’s Marc Stein. Per Stein, the “Celtics have been sending behind-the-scenes signals to interested teams that they intend to match any offer sheet for … Williams“.
“How binding, however, are such whispered claims?” asks the Substack reporter rhetorically. “The wait to find out how prepared … Boston (is) to stick to those stances is ticking down” in light of the fact that the Celtics — at least as currently constructed — would make themselves a second apron team with all the restrictions that new status would entail with the arrival of the league’s new collective bargaining agreement in force as of July 1.
“In Boston’s case, matching a theoretical offer from the Mavericks or any other team constructed with their $12.4 million non-taxpayer midlevel exception would push the Celtics more than $20 million beyond the tax line for the upcoming season,” notes Stein, squarely into second apron territory.
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A deal to cut salary elsewhere would of course be on the table, but apart from reviving the notion of a Malcolm Brogdon deal bringing back a cheaper ball handler, it remains unclear how Boston hopes this scenario will end.
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