Summertime Updates From The Roster

There's a separate thread for draft pick prospects and the Combine. When the Summer League roster and schedule are solidified there'll be a thread for that too. This thread is just so we can keep up with players that were on the roster last season and, until further notification, may/probably be on the roster next season.

It's just a way for us to keep in touch with them when there are no games.




Payton Pritchard
@paytonpritch3
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39m
More to come….
https://twitter.com/i/status/1404102554787721217


Bob


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https://us.yahoo.com/sports/another-looming-offseason-issue-celtics-184843782.html



Another looming offseason issue for Celtics: extending Robert Williams III


Justin Quinn
Sat, June 12, 2021, 8:48 PM






While finding a new head coach to fill the vacancy created by his own promotion to team president is one major concern of the 2021 offseason for newly minted Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens, he’s got other major concerns on his plate to consider as well.

One of the tasks near the top of the list will be making a decision on whether to extend blossoming but often-injured big man Robert Williams III, and if so, for how much. While the Texas A&M product has become a force to be reckoned with when he’s on the court, his being on the court is one of the biggest considerations on if and for how much such an offer might being.

To that end, NBC Sports Boston’s “Celtics Talk” podcast recently hosted NBA cap expert Bobby Marks to talk tendering Timelord an extension offer this offseason.


Speaking with host Chris Forsberg, Marks related via NBC's Justin Leger that a rookie extension "is the hardest contract you could negotiate."

"You're not bidding against anybody else, so it's like salary arbitration where you basically have a deadline the day before the start of the regular season. That is the only deadline at all. I was looking at numbers, there's only been seven players since 2018 who have been picked past pick No. 20 who have been extended."

Boston does happen to have a pair of extended players on the Celtics now in All-Star wings Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, but both were picked No. 3 overall in their respective drafts.

"Extensions are based on upside," added Marks, something Williams oozes at times.

"If you go by the body of work of Robert Williams for three years, it says, 'I want to see a little bit more.' I want to see a player that's healthy. I want to see him on the court for 70 games. I want to see him in a starter role for a whole year."

"The beauty of it is that Brad [Stevens] has had him for three years and knows what his upside is, knows what he still needs to work on, knows what his strengths are," observed the ESPN analyst.

There's also the cap situation to consider, complicated by the other elephant in the room as far as new team president Stevens' to-do list concerns -- Kemba Walker's substantial contract in this in future seasons. How a Williams' extension relates to that, queries Marks rhetorically, asking if "you [are] comfortable Kemba's number might be off your books by then? Are you comfortable paying the luxury tax for a second year?"

"Eventually we're going to get another infusion of national TV money," he suggests.

"So by ... 2023, '24, in that area, this cap is going to go up again. And eventually, in Year 2 of that Robert Williams extension or Year 3, paying him $17 million a year might be kind of like a team-friendly contract now because the cap's going to go up."

"If he's part of your future and you think his upside is high, you don't need to go out and pay him $25 million, but there's got to be some kind of compromise there," adds Marks.

Without knowing the medical outlook on the Louisiana native's health, it's hard to say what a fair offer might be for Williams to balance the risk vs. his own potential. Perhaps around the $15-17 million per season range if he seems likely to be on the court more in the future, perhaps less guaranteed with some serious unlikely incentives in the mode of what both Brown and Tatum have agreed to if doubts linger. For Stevens at least, he can work on some other things -- like Walker's contract -- in the time between now and that first day of the coming 2021-22 season.


Bob
MY NOTE:  His health, of course, is Concern #1.  Can he stay on the floor?  

As far as "only been seven players since 2018 who have been picked past pick No. 20 who have been extended" goes, this sounds like a BS stat.  For one thing, how many players have been eligible for an extension since 2018?  Not players drafted in 2020, they just completed their rookie year, you don't extend rookies.  Not players that were drafted in 2019, they just completed their 2nd season.  #21 - #30 is the rest of the 1st round, and then another 30 in the 2nd round.  That's 40 players from the 2018 draft, the one The Time Lord was drafted in.  7 players out of 40 isn't bad, especially when you consider that very few 2nd rounders even get a rookie contract in the first place.  Let Bobby Marks tell us how many of those 40 players who are realistically eligible for an extension, meaning not the class of 2019 and 2020, actually got an NBA contract back in 2018.  If a dozen of those 2nd rounders got an NBA contract (which I sincerely doubt) that means 7 out of 22 and of those 22 how many of them are NBA starters, like RWill is, now?


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Boston Celtics
@celtics
Tacko Fall talks about staying consistent and playing into his strengths.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1404138945991094272


Bob
MY NOTE:  Still very much a work-in-process.  A 4th string center?  Yep, right now, yep.  3rd string?  Not on a strong team, but if someone on the depth chart ahead of him goes down for a few weeks with back spasms or or a hammy or plantar fasciitis he could help hold down the fort.  Tacko more than doubled the number of games he played in this year and almost doubled the mpg.   This makes sense considering COVID stopped G-League play, the league allowed unlimited appearances with the NBA team, and because he had a year under his belt.  He should have gotten more playing time just because he had another year of practice to improve with, and if he didn't get more minutes then that's when you know it's time to go.  He played a total of 33 minutes in his first year with the Maine team and played 136 this past season.  136 minutes still isn't much at all but it is a lot more year-over-year.  Nobody knows what Brad's gonna do except maybe Brad (and, even then, I think he has SOOO much on his plate what with hiring a coach and getting ready for the Combine and the draft I'm not sure he has made many decisions about a lot of things).  He saw Tacko practice every day this past season, he didn't just receive regular reports from Maine.  That's one advantage Brad has with his promotion and this roster; he knows exactly, precisely, what their individual strengths and weaknesses are and whether they're worth keeping. A brand-new GM, fresh to the franchise and the team, wouldn't have that level of awareness and that's valuable for a whole lot more than just Tacko Fall's future in Boston.


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Williams is such a Talent, but now we know why so many teams stayed away from him. This was a problem even in college, so now, the question is, do we go forward with a player who has yet to stay on the floor consistently in the time he has been here? I love the kid, he does things that we have not seen since KG and that is exciting to me. But this is a real big issue. I just what Brad is thinking. If it was frustrating for him this year never being able to put his starting 5 on the floor consistently, is he going to tie the hands of the next guy coming in ??

Williams has to be evaluated by the training staff to see if a strengthening program is something that will help him succeed. It is obvious to me that the kid was frustrated at the end of the season also. I am torn here. I wonder where it ends.

Another issue facing Brad is Grant Williams. I am really torn here too. There were times when the kid never got off the bench, yet there were times when he put in solid minutes on the floor. At best right now he is the 8th man or more on the bench, a situational player at best. Trading him in a package with ??? might be the best thing that could happen for him, keeping him might be insurance you can count on at times. I know this is not a big thing to many, but to me, it is. The kid is a bright young man, loves being a Celtic and I will be sorry to see him go.

Semi has played his last game here, that was obvious in the playoffs. If only he could have improved his shooting to be a consistent 10-12 pt a night player, he may have stuck around. His defense is what kept him here this long.

The kids, Edwards and Waters are dead weight, let them go so they can either catch on with someone or go overseas and make some money. Tacko....?? I haven't got a clue.

I think Brad has a good idea of what has to be done, getting it done will be the interesting part.

I think the Celtics should do the extension for Rob Williams and not wait.  

However, that is not priority # 1.  RW is still under contract for a year and Boston can secure the right to match any offer by exercising their QO.

The Celtics have to make a decision on EF.  I hope that they let him go.  I do like his offense but not his defense.

The Celtics also need to part ways with Grant, Semi, Tacko, Edward and Waters.  

The makeover needed on this team is not a one year project.  

The biggest issue on the team is the Kemba Walker contract and bad fit as a floor general.

Brad has his work cut out for him.  He will need time.

Bob


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