Robert Williams III and Marcus Smart thrived when they played together for the Boston Celtics. Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes proposed a trade to reunite them on the Memphis Grizzlies.
Hughes proposed the following trade between the Grizzlies and Portland Trail Blazers in a September 4 story.
Grizzlies receive: Williams
Trail Blazers receive: Brandon Clarke, Clippers 2026 second-round pick, 2027 Hawks second-round pick
Hughes explained why Williams would appeal to the Grizzlies.
“Williams’ durability has been a major concern throughout his career, and losing all but six games of last season because of knee surgery certainly doesn’t inspire confidence in his future fitness. But the Grizzlies are giving up their own damaged goods in Clarke—an undersized big who got by on elite athleticism before tearing his Achilles late in the 2022-23 campaign,” Hughes wrote in a story on “5 trades to shake up” starting lineups.
Williams comes with his injury risks, but Hughes explained the potential reward for acquiring him.
“If Time Lord stays healthy while returning to the form he showed in landing an All-Defensive second-team nod in 2021-22, the Grizzlies will have made out like bandits,” Hughes wrote.
Williams is coming off an injury-plagued season, where he played six games before suffering a season-ending knee injury. The Trail Blazers are in the middle of a rebuild, so they may not have much use for him. If he reunited with Smart in Memphis, those two would have familiarity with each other.
Robert Williams Floated as ‘Must-Monitor Candidate’
Williams has remained with the Trail Blazers during the 2024 NBA offseason. However, Substack’s Marc Stein speculated in a July 11 story that he was among players who could be traded during the season.
“Toronto‘s Bruce Brown. Portland‘s Robert Williams. Washington‘s unsigned free agent (and thus a prime sign-and-trade target) Tyus Jones and newly acquired Malcolm Brogdon. The Brooklyn trio of Cam Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Dennis Schröder … all of the players above continue to rank as must-monitor candidates to be dealt between now and next season’s Feb. 6 trade deadline.”
So, the Trail Blazers trading Williams might not necessarily be far-fetched. Williams, who turns 27 in October, is injury-prone, but he is an impactful player when healthy.
Odds of Robert Williams-Celtics Reunion Are ‘Essentially Zero’
Because Williams’ contract is cheap (he is set to earn $12.5 million in 2024-25, per Spotrac), acquiring him wouldn’t be too difficult. However, in the Celtics’ case, they aren’t likely to orchestrate a reunite with him anytime soon.
MassLive’s Brian Robb revealed that the odds of the Celtics reuniting with Williams are quite low.
“The odds of a return to Boston are essentially zero on Williams’ current deal. The Celtics simply have no way to trade for him without moving someone in their top six, and that just isn’t happening for Williams at this point,” Robb wrote in a July 26 story.
Frontcourt depth could be an issue for the Celtics. Kristaps Porzingis will be out until December at the earliest. The Celtics will likely rest Al Horford even more than the previous two seasons. Williams would, on paper, be a solid backup big man, but it’s hard to see how they could make it work.
