Robert Williams III signs four-year, $54 million contract extension with Boston Celtics
Photo by Brian Babineau | NBAE via Getty Images
Robert Williams III has signed a four-year, $54 million extension to stay with the Boston Celtics, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. The deal averages out to around $13.5 million per season.
Per Wojnarowski, the contract puts Williams into the top half of the league’s centers in terms of salary. Despite this, the young big man has only started 13 games thus far in his career.
Williams has dealt with injuries all throughout his career so far. In three seasons, he has played only 113 total games. Last season he played 52 games, which is by far the most in his career so far.
He averaged 8.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 18.9 minutes per game last season while shooting 72.1% from the field. This would have led the league by far if he had taken enough shots to qualify.
However, when Williams has been able to stay on the court he has been phenomenal. His defensive presence is nothing short of incredible, and he even set a franchise record in the playoffs last year. He recorded nine blocks in a single playoff game, which is the most in Celtics history. Williams’ athleticism gives him a serious advantage when protecting the paint.
In addition, his offensive game is getting better as well. He is an elite lob threat who works well with both Marcus Smart and Payton Pritchard. On top of that, he has even shown flashes of developing a mid-range jump shot.
With Al Horford in town, Williams should be able to learn a lot. Horford can mentor Williams and help him improve on both ends of the floor. If Williams can manage to stay healthy, this will be one of the best contracts in the NBA.
