The Boston Celtics are the reigning NBA champion and still look like an elite team during the 2024-25 season. While a lot of their success has to do with their homegrown players (most notably Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown), the Celtics have also made many trades that proved crucial to their success. In the past couple of seasons, the Celtics acquired Derrick White, Kristaps Porzingis, and Jrue Holiday in trades. All three players played an essential role in Boston’s championship run last season. However, there are also many players the Celtics moved on from that were important to the team before they won it all. This is especially true for Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III, who played a big role in the Celtics’ NBA Finals run in 2022.
Despite moving on from some of these key players, Celtics fans have held out hope that some of them would make their return to the team. Williams, who the team traded to the Portland Trail Blazers for Holiday, is a prime example. He is a Celtics fan favorite and is a popular trade candidate. Regardless, a reunion seems unlikely.
According to MassLive’s Brian Robb, the Celtics are unlikely to make a trade to bring Williams back to Boston this season. Robb cites financial reasons as the biggest reason.
“It would make for a great story but don’t see anyway it happens due to the financial component. Williams is earning just under $12 million, which would require the Celtics to match that money in any sort of a trade offer. After Boston’s top six players, no one on the roster makes more than $6.6 million this year, making the salary matching for a deal essentially impossible without including one of your top guys. The Celtics won’t be doing that for Williams,” Robb wrote.
Boston Celtics Unlikely to Trade for Robert Williams III
Robert Williams III’s Boston Celtics Career
Prior to getting traded to Portland, Williams was a solid player in Boston. The Celtics drafted him with the 27th pick in 2018. The Texas A&M alum spent parts of the first three seasons of his career as a bench player. However, during the 2020-21 season, he became an everyday starter. Williams’ injury and defensive prowess made him extremely valuable to Boston. This was most evident during the 2021-22 season.
In what remains the best campaign of his career, Williams started all 61 games he played in for Boston this season. On the year, he averaged 10 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2.2 blocks per game. He also shot 73.6% on six field goal attempts per game. Williams earned All-Defensive Team honors for the first time in his career and finished seventh in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
Unfortunately for Williams, health proved to be a major issue for him. He struggled to stay on the court, and even when he did, he was regularly on a minutes restriction. Despite being a fantastic player on the court, this prompted the Celtics to ship him out to Portland.
Potential Trade Destinations for Robert Williams III
Robb noted that Portland trading Williams is a realistic possibility. There is a logjam in the frontcourt with Williams, Deandre Ayton, and Donovan Clingan on the roster. Furthermore, Robb mentions the Los Angeles Lakers as a potential destination for Williams.
“While a return to Boston is not going to happen, he will be worth keeping an eye on around the league on the trade market. The Blazers continue to have a logjam at center and Williams is playing well enough in his first week back healthy to catch team’s eyes again. A playoff team looking for a boost in the middle could roll the dice on him although his health always makes it a bit of a risk. The Lakers have already been linked to him as a potential suitor but there are a host of East teams that could use him in the middle,” Robb wrote.
As it stands, it remains unknown how likely Portland is to trade Williams. However, he has one full year remaining on his four-year, $48 million contract. It may not be during the season, but the Trail Blazers potentially moving on from the 27-year-old is a narrative worth monitoring.
