Mavs Acquire Celtics’ Grant Williams in Three-Team Trade

The Mavericks are acquiring Celtics forward Grant Williams in a three-team trade that also involves the Spurs, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.

As part of the deal, San Antonio will receive forward Reggie Bullock and a 2023 pick swap from Dallas. Boston will receive multiple second-rounders, Charania added.

Williams is a restricted free agent, so this is a sign-and-trade deal. Per Charania, Williams will receive a new four-year, $54 million contract as part of the transaction. The deal is fully guaranteed with no options, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Specifically, the Celtics and Mavs will each land two second-rounders as part of the deal, with the Celtics landing a 2025 pick swap, per Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe.

The deal is complicated financially, as Bobby Marks of ESPN noted. First of all, Dallas is about $9 million below the first tax apron — so the Mavs will need to clear some additional cap space to have access to the full mid-level exception, which starts at $12.4 million.

Already, the Mavericks have created a $10.5 million exception, courtesy of Bullock’s outgoing salary, and the Celtics created a $6.2 million exception, or half of Williams’ salary.

Meanwhile, the Spurs will still have about $12.5 million in cap space as they build around No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama.

Williams, 24, is expected to add some complementary defense and rugged alongside the likes of the star backcourt of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. He averaged 8.1 points and 4.6 rebounds in 79 games last season.

Bullock, 32, signed a multiyear deal with the Mavericks ahead of last season. A 3-and-D type, he averaged 7.2 points and 3.6 rebounds in 78 games.

The Mavericks are acquiring Celtics restricted free agent Grant Williams on a four-year, $54 million deal via sign-and-trade, per sources. WME Sports’ Bill Duffy and Erik Kabe completed the new contract for Williams. https://t.co/5T77dCuMkA

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 5, 2023