According to Marc Stein of The Stein Line, the Boston Celtics are converting Amari Williams‘ two-way contract to a standard deal. Williams will ink a two-year, $2.7 million deal with the Celtics.
The 24-year-old, 6-foot-11 center was the No. 46 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Though he hasn’t appeared in a ton of games for Boston, he has made an impact when Joe Mazzulla put him on the floor.
In his 13 appearances, he has played just 8.2 minutes per contest, averaging 1.7 points and 2.1 rebounds.
The highlight of Williams’ season thus far was his start against the Portland Trail Blazers on January 26. He played 25:53 and finished the night with nine points, seven rebounds, one assist, one steal, and two blocks while shooting 3-of-8 from the floor.
Williams has also dominated the G League. In 23 appearances, he’s played 30.0 minutes per contest, averaging 15.3 points, 11.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 1.7 blocks while shooting 61.3% from the field.
They are only a couple of small moves away from getting under the luxury tax line, but they still need to fill out their roster to at least 14 players. Williams will help them do that, and he’s on a much cheaper deal.
Williams doesn’t seem ready for regular NBA minutes just yet. But the talent is there.
He’s an elite passer (perhaps the best big-man passer in his draft class) and a giant body. In his limited minutes with Boston, Williams’ screening has been awesome, and he’s slowly improving as a rebounder.
That said, he still needs to work on timing. Knowing when to crash for rebounds. Knowing when to hold screens and when to slip. Knowing when to jump and when to stay home.
More time is needed for Williams to develop, but this is a nice sign of faith from Boston (even if a big reason for the move is to simply fill out the roster with cheap contracts).
