The Boston Celtics haven’t had much to do with Grant Williams since they traded him to the Dallas Mavericks in 2023. However, Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus has proposed a trade that would see him more often.
Pincus has proposed a three-way trade involving the former Celtic between the Charlotte Hornets , New York Knicks and Washington Wizards.
Knicks get: Grant Williams, Nick Richards, $15.9 million trade exception (Randle), $2.1 million trade exception (Jericho Sims)
Hornets get: Julius Randle, Jericho Sims, Corey Kispert, Marvin Bagley III (from Wizards)
Wizards get: Josh Green (from Hornets), Cody Martin (from Hornets), 2025 Wizards-protected first-round pick, 2025 Detroit Pistons-protected first-round pick
Pincus explained why Williams would have attracted the Knicks’ attention from a basketball perspective.
“Williams has more experience as a role player with his time in Boston with the Celtics (and briefly in Dallas with the Mavericks). Williams is the better defender and shooter of the two, with a career three-point percentage of 37.7 percent (Randle’s is 33.3 percent). While Williams is not traditionally tall, he plays bigger (capable at both forward positions, but probably best at power forward).”
He explained some of the other reasons the Knicks are in favor of the trade, including the low cost of Williams’ contract.
“More importantly, Williams has a team-friendly contract for the next three years ($40.9 million) and the Knicks face a significant problem with the loss of Hartenstein in Richards. The backup center is listed at 7’0″ and is under contract for two years ($10 million, second year not guaranteed).”