On their way to the 2024 Paris Opening Ceremony, two NBA champions 🇺🇸
The “Odds” of a Celtics reunion with a first-round center are discussed by the reporter.
Some former Boston Celtics players have returned to the team. Robert Williams III, a former starting center, is someone they may use. The likelihood of a reconciliation between the two factions seemed low, according to MassLive’s Brian Robb. Certainly not anytime soon.
Williams’ present deal with the Portland Trail Blazers makes a return to Boston quite unlikely, according to Robb’s July 26 mailbag.
“The chances of a return to Boston are essentially zero on Williams’ current deal,” he tweeted on July 26, in response to a reader who said Williams may be traded. “The Celtics are unable to acquire him through trade without sacrificing one of their starting six players, which is clearly not going to happen for Williams right now.”
As part of a trade package, the Celtics acquired Jrue Holiday from the Blazers in exchange for Williams. After appearing in six games for the Trail Blazers in 2023, Williams’ season was cut short due to a knee injury.
His $48 million contract is set to expire after three years.
Potentially Joining Celtics RivalIn his piece, Robb expressed his doubt that Williams would remain a Portland player for the foreseeable future. The idea of Williams signing with a major competitor of the Celtics’ was brought up by him.
“If he returns healthy, the greatest concern for Celtics fans is whether he will wind up supporting a playoff rival or not,” he wrote. “The Knicks could use some frontcourt depth, but another big man prone to injuries probably wouldn’t mesh well with Mitchell Robinson.”
He went on to say that before dealing for Williams, teams will probably want to see if he can maintain his footing on the court. Williams has played in 60 or more games just once since entering the NBA. Williams hurt himself in the last moments of the 2021–22 regular season. While the Celtics advanced to the 2022 NBA Finals, he courageously attempted to play with the injury, but it was obvious that it was affecting his performance.
“At this point, I’d be surprised if Williams plays out another full season in Portland. Teams will probably wait to see if he’s healthy enough to play this season before taking risk on him.”
Robert Williams III is Recognized by Jayson TatumWilliams was the Celtics’ sacrificial lamb on the road to a championship, even though he helped them become a contender. It was pointed out by Jayson Tatum, who yelled out Williams and expressed his disappointment that he and Marcus Smart weren’t part of the team that won the championship. He also expressed satisfaction with the additions they made.
“Winning this championship is toughest because Smart and Rob aren’t here,” Tatum told Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. Having Jrue and Kristaps Porzingis, though, makes me very happy. We were clearly propelled to new heights by those guys.
In order to win a championship, every team usually has to trade a talented player or two. To go to the next level, the Celtics had to make some tough sacrifices, but they were well worth it.