The Boston Celtics and the pivot Robert williams They agreed to a four-year, $ 54 million contract extension, REP1 Sports agent Kevin Bradbury told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The deal will place the 23-year-old Williams among the top half of NBA centers in annual salary and is a gamble for him to turn out to be the promise he has shown during the first three years of his career.
Williams has seen his role expand each season, including 13 starting games in the 52 games he played last season, when he averaged 8.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.8 blocks in 18.9 minutes per game, all of his career highs.
A 72% career shooter from the field, Williams has shown flashes of the ability to become an impact player on both ends of the field. He is effective as a finisher and protector of the rim, and has also demonstrated impressive ability to pass the ball.
What has held him back are persistent injuries that have limited him to 113 games in his first three seasons after he was the 27th pick for Texas A&M in 2018.
Earlier this week, Celtics reached an agreement with the point guard Marcus Smart in a four-year, $ 77 million extension, as Brad Stevens continues to put his stamp on Boston’s roster after moving from coach to president of basketball operations after the season.
Boston also changed for the point guard Josh richardson, exchanged to Kemba walker and a first-round pick by the former Celtics center, Al Horford, and signed the base Dennis Schroder and to the center Enes Kanter for a year.
Stevens also reached an agreement with the New York Knicks to convert the exit of Evan fournier with a business exception, giving Boston some flexibility going forward.