A free agent offer sheet is coming in for Grant Williams, probably Thursday, and Boston knows it.
That’s why they sought a sign and trade for the forward, but their asking price as a first-round pick is a bit steep. Jared Weiss has the details at The Athletic .
Although most of the league’s cap space has dried up at this point, the expectation with Williams has always been that a sign-and-trade or mid-level (MLE) exception would be the likely outcome. . Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, New York and Washington are still in the mix, league sources say, with Williams eligible to sign a July 6 offer sheet. The Celtics have 24 hours to correspond once the sheet is signed.
Atlanta has been the most mentioned team as a suitor for Williams, but he will have the choice of signing the offer sheet of the team that offers the most money and/or wants to join the most. Weiss said Boston should match any offer up to the mid-level exception — likely the maximum offer coming in — which triggers signing-and-trade talks for real. But no team gives up a first round in this case, it will be a few seconds and a player.
Why did the Williams situation drag on? There is a simple financial reason. Let’s take Williams as an example to clear things up: hypothetically, if Atlanta gave Williams an offer sheet on July 3, they couldn’t sign it and make it official until the signing moratorium ends on July 6. , then Boston would have 24 hours to match. . Either way, the Hawks’ cap space would be locked in for four days as the market continued to move and more players continued to be signed. Teams don’t want to be caught off guard with their tied up money. That’s why teams wait until the sixth for offers on restricted free agents.
That is to say, Williams’ situation is likely settled before the weekend. Whatever happens, don’t expect Boston to pick up a first-round pick.