Grant Williams Hand Surgery

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/grant-williams-injury-update-celtics-forward-undergoes-hand-surgery-will-be-ready-for-training-camp/



Grant Williams injury update: Celtics forward undergoes hand surgery; will be ready for training camp


Williams had been dealing with a hand injury since March

   
By Jasmyn Wimbish

19 hrs ago


Boston Celtics forward Grant Williams underwent surgery on his left hand on Friday, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Williams had been dealing with the injury since March, but decided to play through the pain in a playoff run that saw the Boston Celtics advance to the Eastern Conference finals. He's expected to make a full recovery in time for training camp at the start of the 2023-24 season, per Wojnarowski.

Williams played a pivotal role in Boston's playoff run this season, and will enter restricted free agency this summer. He's among CBS Sports' top 50 free agents set to hit the market this summer, but given his restricted status the Celtics will be able to match any offer sheet he receives if they want to keep him around. While Williams' playing time was up and down this season, when he was in the rotation he shot 39.5%  from 3-point territory, and an even better 45% in the postseason. He did all of this despite dealing with a ligament injury in his right elbow dating back to February of this season.

The defensive versatility that Williams provides and his consistent 3-point shooting should make him a hot commodity in the offseason, so Boston surely won't be the only suitors for his services. Or, if the Celtics' are looking to improve in other ways in an effort to get back to the NBA Finals, they could look to make Williams part of a sign-and-trade deal if there's someone else out there that Boston would prefer.


We'll have to wait and see how Williams' free agency shakes out at the end of June, but wherever he lands, he'll have a hand injury to work back from ahead of next season.


Bob
MY NOTE:  Bleacher Report and The Athletic are also saying the injury was a torn ligament in his left, non-shooting hand, but here's a selfie taken by Grant with the bandage on his right hand.  ???

https://twitter.com/CTabatabaie/status/1667524403905658882

Either way, kudos to Grant for playing through the pain.  This might explain why Joe inexplicably sat him in the playoffs.  Tough kid, Grant.  Doesn't complain, plays through pain, doesn't care if he comes off the bench or starts.  Brad and Wyc and Pags have some very tough decisions to make this offseason.  I'm glad I'm not them (except for the money.  I'd love to have their money).


.

Jaylen - hand, Grant - hand and elbow, Malcolm - elbow/arm tendon - Can someone lend us a hand?

worcester wrote:Jaylen - hand, Grant - hand and elbow, Malcolm - elbow/arm tendon - Can someone lend us a hand?

                  or a foot

Apparently there were more injuries to contend with than we knew about.

https://twitter.com/RealBobManning/status/1673735042961489926?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

Bobby Manning
Bobby Manning @RealBobManning
about 14 minutes ago
Grant on #Celtics future: "Brad and those guys, if they decide to keep me & bring me back, of course I'm gonna come back and be excited and happy and ready to play for the Celtics. If something else happens, I'll have to transition..wherever I am, (I'll) impact success & winning"


Gary Washburn @GwashburnGlobe
about 19 minutes ago
Grant Williams said there is still a chance to return to the #Celtics. “Absolutely. It’s just a decision of whether or not it’s needed.” Said a deal with the new CBA “definitely changes the (cap) numbers”


Bob


.

By Brian Robb | brobb@masslive.com
In the wake of the Kristaps Porzingis trade, the next obvious shoe to drop for the Celtics in free agency is with Grant Williams.

The 6-foot-6 forward failed to reach terms on an extension last offseason with Boston despite a four-year offer from the team per league sources. After an up-and-down year, Williams appears to be a strong candidate to move on now following the acquisition of Porzingis for a host of reasons.

With the new CBA, it’s tough to find a way to keep Williams on the books for the long term and still maintain roster flexibility to build around the team’s new core. An extension for Porzingis would only make that tougher. Boston could elect to move Malcolm Brogdon now (to help reduce salary burden) to help give the Celtics more spending power to keep Williams in the short term but that’s a development we will have to wait on before going down that road.

In the meantime, a few things are evident:

1. The Celtics aren’t going to lose Grant Williams without compensation as a restricted free agent if they can afford to.

2. Grant Williams’ free agent market may not be as pricy as he may have hoped.

3. The Celtics are going to need another rotation big to replace Williams if he leaves (Taxpayer mid-level may be an option here).

There is also the complicating factor with Williams that he would be a base-year compensation player in any sign-and-trade scenario in restricted free agency. Essentially, that makes salary matching scenarios a bit trickier due to CBA rules, although his new contract shouldn’t be big enough to keep Mike Zarren and company from overcoming this potential obstacle. However, finding fits that give Boston back a player will be tough since the C’s could only take back roughly $6-8 million in salary depending on Williams’ starting salary. Trading Williams into cap room for a TPE and a second-round pick seems like the likelier scenario if the team moves on.

So what teams have the cap space to make a run at Williams? Let’s look through the list for potential fits.

Rockets ($64.2 million in cap room)

Notable signed bigs: Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr., Jae’Sean Tate

Analysis: Houston has more money to spend than any other team but MassLive has not heard any whispers about the team making a run at Williams. They could certainly use another big but Ime Udoka and this team’s front office have their sights set on bigger names than Williams by all accounts. Maybe a team to watch if they strike out on bigger names but they don’t seem to be a big threat.

Spurs ($41.8 million in cap room)

Notable signed bigs: Jeremy Sochan, Victor Wembanyama, Zach Collins

Analysis: Another team that will surely be in the market for a big to play alongside their No. 1 overall pick. The guess here is they are looking for a bigger body than 6-foot-6 Williams since they could probably find it on the trade market for minimal cost.

Kings ($33.5 million in cap room)

Notable signed bigs: Keegan Murray, Domantas Sabonis

Analysis: A surprise entry into the cap race after their draft night deals. They will be looking to fill a void at power forward if they elect to let Harrison Barnes walk. However, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reports that they may have their eyes on Kyle Kuzma if their attempts to land Khris Middleton or Draymond Green fall short.

Pacers ($32.2 million in cap room)

Notable signed bigs: Jarace Walker, Myles Turner, Isaiah Jackson, Jalen Smith

Analysis: This is a team to watch on the Williams front league sources tell MassLive. There are ingredients for a sign-and-trade that work under the BYC restrictions with a couple of smaller salaries in Smith or Jackson the C’s could be interested in. Boston could just try to get a second round pick and a TPE to use later this season from the Pacers for not matching an offer. Whether the Pacers are motivated to bring in another big in Williams after drafting Walker remains to be seen but his 3-point shooting would certainly hold appeal around Tyrese Halliburton.

Pistons ($30.8 million in cap room)

Notable signed bigs: Isaiah Stewart, Jalen Duran, Marvin Bagley, James Wiseman

Analysis: That looks like a pretty stocked frontcourt. Barring another move, can’t see the Pistons throwing a long contract at Williams when there are so many other needs across the roster.

Magic ($23.9 million in cap room)

Notable signed bigs: Paolo Banchero, Wendell Carter Jr.

Analysis: They’ve got a lot of cheap bigs on the bench and a roster glut in their backcourt. Orlando has the ability to take one big swing if they want to in free agency but their roster composition suggests this will be an active team in the next week. Williams could slot in nicely here as a top bench big.

Thunder ($18 million in cap room)

Notable signed bigs: Too many to list

Analysis: Williams isn’t going here after the team traded for Davis Bertans last week amid a host of other young bigs on this roster.

Worth a mention

Jazz — They are only down to $12 million in cap room and just traded for John Collins so they would seem to be out of the mix now as Jake Fischer reported Tuesday.

Hawks/Nets — Both teams have TPEs that could technically fit Williams but each franchise is either close to the luxury tax already (Hawks) or have their own free agents to worry about (Nets).

Other scenarios

There is the possibility of the Celtics dealing WIlliams to a team with no cap room but is still under the salary cap apron via a sign-and-trade. Boston would demand compensation in said scenario to facilitate that kind of a deal but salary matching would be tricky under BYC rules as outlined earlier. A number of teams could also try to sign Williams to the non-taxpayer mid-level exception but it’s likely the Celtics would consider matching that kind of a deal since he was offered something similar last fall.

Final Thoughts

This is going to be a fascinating market for the Celtics and Williams to navigate. Moving on from Williams creates a new hole for Brad Stevens in a frontcourt that isn’t exactly durable as currently composed. If the Celtics do manage to find a sign-and-trade for Williams, the bet here is with Indiana. However, finding a big deal for Williams (beyond taxpayer mid-level money) does not feel like a slam dunk given the lack of teams in the market for bigs.

RosalieTCeltics wrote:? what will happen?  This week is a bit nerve wracking!!  According to Chris Fosberg last night, there is no way we keep Grant and Malcolm.  How do other teams load up and not lose the players they want?  

Rosalie

Most teams are going through the same things as us. There are not a lot of GSW teams that mint money

Last year GSW spent $188 million on salaries and $163.7 million on the tax. Once they resign Green and build out their roster (only 9 under contract) they may hit $500 Million this year.

The Mass live article is interesting.

First things first. Is Williams really a big. Is he a starting quality big or really a rotation guy?

Money is going to dry up faster than a puddle on a hot July day.

I think Grant is ranked around 7th among all PF free agents.

The notion that all the teams with Cap space need a PF is pure BS. Free agent signings will come for all positions.

Ive always been a fan of players who work hard, have character and are passionate about what they do for a living.
What they lack in talent is made up for with those traits.
Grant’s one of those players.
Sure he talks a lot but that doesn't bother me.
With Smart headed south If the Celtics decide to let Grant go elsewhere I think it would be dumb and we’ll live to regret it.

gyso wrote:

Ktron wrote:Ive always been a fan of players who work hard, have character and are passionate about what they do for a living.
What they lack in talent is made up for with those traits.
Grant’s one of those players.
Sure he talks a lot but that doesn't bother me.
With Smart headed south If the Celtics decide to let Grant go elsewhere I think it would be dumb and we’ll live to regret it.

I also wish there was a way to keep him.  

I've been reading a few things today that keeping Grant is not entirely out of the question. Keeping Grant and Brogdon, as we all know, would be tough to accomplish.

I appreciate hearing how tough Grant has been with the unknown hand injury. Still, I would favor hanging onto Brogdon (if he's healthy) between the two. One of a few possible lineups featuring Tatum, Porzingis, Brown, Brogdon and White looks good and highly balanced to me. In the alternate to bringing RWIII off the bench, RWIII could also be paired with Porzingis in the frontcourt with relief pitching from Al and either White or Brogdon off the bench. Keeping Grant shoots either of those possible lineups and hurts the guard ranks more than it does the frontcourt by losing Grant, IMO.

With the addition of Prizingis we are pretty much set at PF.  He can definitely play stretch 4.  Plus we have AH and Jason Tatum.  That's 3 guys that you can plug into the PF spot.  Any thing above that is deep rotation help.

Even if the Celtics go back to the 2 big lineup, you are always going to have a PF on the floor.  Therefore, it seems to me that Grant Williams will get squeezed.  He is not going to get any meaningful minutes at the 4 spot.

We do not really know what CJ prefers.  He could go with KP at center in a single big lineup and that would put JT at the 4.  the obvious BU at 4 would be AH.

I just do not see Grant at the 3 in a BU role.  JB also can play 3 as can Sam Hauser.

By the way Sam only played 16 MPG.  He struggled with his shot midway through the season but still ended up shooting 41% from deep during the regular season.

Also, Sam had a better defensive rating than Grant per NBA.Com  106.4 vs 109.  Offensively Grant was at 114.9 and Sam was 114.

The points I am making are (1) the KP addition greatly impacts our big rotation, (2) Grant would pretty much have to play at the 3 where he would be splitting playing time as a rotational player with Sam Hauser.

Given the potential impact on building out the roster with cheap short term contracts I would not lose any sleep over the Grant Williams leaving for a better pay day.

Very insightful dboss. I agree.

The Celtics submitted an $8.4M Qualifying Offer today to Grant Williams, officially making him a RFA.

Not exactly shocking news, I know, but it did happen.  The Celtics now have the ability to match any offer from any other team.  Whether they have the will to do it depends upon what those offers are and remains to be seen.


Bob


.

cowens/oldschool wrote:I agree somewhat, there will be games where one of Al, Timelord and Zinger will be out for whatever reason, in those games we could use more of GWill. Will Al still be held out of b2b?

Cow

Last season Al did not play in approximately 14 B2B games.  My expectation is that he will also sit out the 1st or 2nd games of B2B contests.

Last season Grant started in 23 regular season games and Blake started 16 times.  

I can definitely see your point here.

The big difference is that we did not have Porzingis.  

With regards to RW.  Here is what happened.  He missed the first 29 games of the season because he was recovering from a second meniscus surgery from an injury that occurred late in the previous season.  After he came back on 12/16/2022, he played in 35 of the remaining 53 games.  He was subject to game management initiatives including games off and minute restrictions because the Celtics wanted to make certain that he would be ready come playoff time.  He never seemed to be 100% fully recovered. Some of that looked like poor conditioning.

I recall a couple of games where both AH and RW were out.

Again this lack of availability meant that Grant played more and started more games.

Worse case scenario, all 3 of our centers (KP, AH and RW) are not able to go.  That would be a 3-shell game where there was no pea to be found.

I can definitely see where having Grant would be good in those more tenuous circumstances.

In the end this comes right down to the owners wiliness to blow past the 2nd apron.  Keep in mind that if they resign GW for around $10M  they will still need to add 2 additional contracts to get the roster count up to 14.  

Maybe the Celtics pursued a sign and trade with an eye towards taking back an inexpensive PF.  As you know the sign and trade will hard cap the team.

I have zero problem with the owners going past the 2nd apron but I would be surprised if the do.

The Porzingis addition is profoundly team altering .

In my opinion , cavalier dismissal of Grant's worth because of the Porzingas deal is utterly misplaced. If this was fantasy basketball I might agree, but the difference between Grant , Al and RWill is that Grant doesn't have to be babied. Al can't play back to backs, he's excused wen he plays poorly because he is too tired. That darned coach overworked him. RWill is great when he's great, but you're lucky if he give you half a season. I believe that Porzingas played the most games of his enture career last year. You can count on Grant showing up every GD night. Availability , etc . We gave up our toughest player, now we are going to denigrate the conteibutions of the guy I believe to be our third toughest? I think DWhite is our toughest player with Smart gone.Grant, if he returns is numero dos. He plays several positions , plays through injuries and never complains. Ditch guys like that at your peril.

dboss wrote:With the addition of Prizingis we are pretty much set at PF.  He can definitely play stretch 4.  Plus we have AH and Jason Tatum.  That's 3 guys that you can plug into the PF spot.  Any thing above that is deep rotation help.

Even if the Celtics go back to the 2 big lineup, you are always going to have a PF on the floor.  Therefore, it seems to me that Grant Williams will get squeezed.  He is not going to get any meaningful minutes at the 4 spot.

We do not really know what CJ prefers.  He could go with KP at center in a single big lineup and that would put JT at the 4.  the obvious BU at 4 would be AH.

I just do not see Grant at the 3 in a BU role.  JB also can play 3 as can Sam Hauser.

By the way Sam only played 16 MPG.  He struggled with his shot midway through the season but still ended up shooting 41% from deep during the regular season.

Also, Sam had a better defensive rating than Grant per NBA.Com  106.4 vs 109.  Offensively Grant was at 114.9 and Sam was 114.

The points I am making are (1) the KP addition greatly impacts our big rotation, (2) Grant would pretty much have to play at the 3 where he would be splitting playing time as a rotational player with Sam Hauser.

Given the potential impact on building out the roster with cheap short term contracts I would not lose any sleep over the Grant Williams leaving for a better pay day.

Above is a more than perfect reason to discount defensive and offensive ratings with a player or players that played fewer minutes.
I would not venture to compare Sam’s numbers with Grant. Sorry. I think it’s a bit of a stretch.