The Celtics unrealistically want to pick Williams in the first round in signing and trading

Grant Williams’ free agent offer sheet is coming, most likely Thursday, and Boston knows it.

That’s why they were looking to sign and trade a forward, but their asking price was a very steep first-round pick. Jared Weiss has the details over at The Athletic .

Although most of the league’s cap space had dried up at this point, the expectations with Williams had always been that the likely outcome would be a sign-and-trade exception or a mid-level (MLE) exception. Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, New York and Washington are still in the mix, according to league sources, with Williams eligible to sign the offer sheet on July 6. The Celtics have 24 hours to game once the paper is signed.

Atlanta was the team most mentioned as a freshman for Williams, but he will have the option to sign the offer sheet of the team offering the most money and/or the one he’s most interested in joining. Weiss said Boston is expected to match any offer that reaches a mid-level exception — potentially the max offer that comes in — which really sparks signing and trade talks. But no team gives up a first player in this case, it will be a few seconds and a player.

Why was Williams so long? There is a simple financial reason. Let’s use Williams as an example to make it clear: Hypothetically, if Atlanta gives an offer sheet to Williams on July 3, he can’t sign it and make it official until the signing moratorium expires on July 6, Boston will have 24 hours to match. . Whatever happens, the Hawks will be capped for four days while the market continues to move and other players continue to sign. Teams don’t want to be caught with money tied up. That’s why teams wait until Day 6 to get offers for restricted free agents.

This means that Williams’ situation will likely be taken care of before the weekend. Whatever happens, don’t expect Boston to come back in the first round.