The Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics are two teams at opposite ends of the Eastern Conference, as the Celtics sit alone in first place and the Pistons are alone at the bottom.
The Pistons still have time to turn things around, but even if they do, they will be looking to use their cap space next offseason to add talent via free agency or trades.
The 2023 free agent class doesn’t have a ton of players that fill the Pistons’ most glaring need, which is to add an athletic wing player who can defend and shoot.
That pool may be a little deeper after the Boston Celtics failed to come to an agreement on an extension with forward Grant Williams. Williams is a guy I have mentioned as a possibility for the Pistons in the past and Boston may regret not locking him up when they had the chance.
According to Michael Scotto at HoopsHype the Celtics were unwilling to go over $12.5 million per year, while Williams was looking for closer to $14 million per over four seasons. He also added that $18 million per season is probably the magic number that will get Boston to walk away from Williams even though he has been a valuable role player for them.
The Celtics are betting that Williams will take slightly less to stay on a championship-caliber team and Williams is betting on himself, as he thinks he’ll fetch more than their offer on the restricted free agent market.
If the number to get Grant Williams was 4 years/$72 million, should the Pistons be interested?
Detroit Pistons: Any interest in Grant Williams?
Williams would certainly provide the Detroit Pistons with a couple of things they need, as he is shooting a scorching 48 percent from 3-point range this season and finished over 41 percent last season. He’s shooting an incredible 58 percent from the floor overall, which would certainly help a team whose shooting has been atrocious from all three levels.
Williams is a good/not great defender who can capably guard a couple of positions, as he often switches on the perimeter and in the post.
But there are some red flags. Williams is a role player on a very good team and would be expected to do a lot more in Detroit, especially if he was making $18 million a year. Williams is not super athletic or fast, so he’d join Saddiq Bey and Bojan Bogdanovic as forwards who struggle to contain speedy wings.
He’s basically a more-efficient Saddiq Bey, and I don’t know if that description is going to excite anyone. It’s also fair to ask if the Pistons are at the stage of their rebuild where they are adding this type of role player, as he seems to overlap with what they have.
Of course, the roster could look at lot different by next offseason and Williams is a guy whose stats don’t reveal his full value, as he is a tough player who makes effort plays and has playoff experience that he will likely add to this season. He’s still young and has improved every season, so the Pistons would be gambling that he has another level to reach.
Without a lot of intriguing options on the unrestricted free-agent market, the Detroit Pistons may have to slightly overpay to get a guy in restricted free agency, which is usually not a good strategy.
They may be better offer pursuing trades than to roll the dice on a role player who may end up getting overpaid.