Grant Williams trade: Controversial Celtics forward dealt to Dallas

ree agency spending in the NBA may have slowed in recent days, but it certainly hasn’t stopped — in fact, it’s as lucrative as ever for players hitting the market or becoming eligible for a contract extension.

In a way, Grant Williams was both. The Boston Celtics could have extended Williams as he reached restricted free agency, or matched an offer sheet from another team in order to retain him. But instead, the Celtics traded Williams to Dallas on Wednesday — and the 24-year-old signed a new contract worth over $50 million total with the Mavericks.

Williams’ time in Boston was memorable

Drafted 22nd overall in 2019, Williams was a standout player at the University of Tennessee and spent four seasons in Boston, playing for three coaches — who all saw him as a valuable reserve.

Williams has shown an ability to guard multiple positions and has developed a lethal three-point shot — he shot 41 percent from three-point land in 2021/22 and nearly 40 percent again last season.

Williams has also earned a reputation as a fiery competitor whose tangles with Jimmy Butler during the 2023 playoffs drew national attention — and as First Vice President of the NBA Players’ Association, he has the respect of his peers, too.

Per ESPN, Williams is a career 43 percent shooter on corner three-point attempts. Opponents trying to take away Irving or Doncic around the rim will have to account for the stocky Williams in the corner, waiting for a pass out of traffic from one of the super-talented guards.

The Mavericks hope Williams can be a “missing piece” of sorts as the franchise tries to appease Doncic and the temperamental Irving and return to the NBA playoffs in 2024.