Robert Williams III had a rough go at Year 1 with the Portland Trail Blazers, fresh off parting ways with the Boston Celtics last offseason, but that isn't discouraging franchises across the league -- specifically playoff contenders -- from monitoring the 26-year-old's trade availability before Opening Night.
Williams was limited to six games in 2022-23 before undergoing season-ending right knee surgery to repair a torn ligament, averaging 6.8 points on 64.5% shooting from the field with 6.3 rebounds. The Trail Blazers, moving on without the 6-foot-9 blocking-chasing center, went a Western Conference-worst 21-61 and landed the seventh overall pick, and selected 7-foot-2 Donovan Clingan (from UConn) on draft night. That leaves Williams drowning in Portland's depth chart and is prompting the team to consider some potential trade returns for the Texas A&M product himself.
"A guy to watch who is very tradable is the Time Lord -- one of the great nicknames in the whole NBA -- Robert Williams, coming back off of the injury," ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported on "The Hoop Collective" podcast. "Obviously, he's a guy who's had repeated injury problems, but that's a guy who makes $13 million who they may be willing to part with, who could go to a contender and be a significant piece. ... The guy is potentially a difference-making player defensively in a playoff series."
Windhorst continued on ESPN's "NBA Today": "I would say any team looking for a center is going to watch Robert Williams closely this year. ... I think the Knicks will be among the teams monitoring him."
With Boston, Williams was among the most productive, impactful bigs in the conference. Whether under head coach Ime Udoka or Joe Mazzulla, the Celtics could lean on Williams to stick by a traditional center's role playstyle of guarding the inside, leaping to absurd heights to hunt down blocks, and giving teammates an easy lob threat target on the other end of the floor. Williams hasn't developed into the No. 1 frontcourt option ex-Celtics general manager Danny Ainge envisioned in 2018 -- Williams' draft night -- but when healthy, the six-year veteran has proven to be a well-above-average complementary piece. Teams with a No. 1 big man could utilize Williams as a co-big to form a lethal frontcourt, leaving opponents tasked with working around the inside force.
Williams averaged 7.4 points, seven rebounds and 1.7 blocks across five seasons with the Celtics, landing a four-year, $54 million extension with the team in 2021. He recorded his career-high in blocks (nine) against the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the 2021 NBA playoffs, then notched his second-most (five) a year later against the Golden State Warriors in the 2022 NBA Finals.
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