Pincus proposed a three-way trade involving the ex-Celtic between the Charlotte Hornets, New York Knicks, and Washington Wizards. He outlined the following deal in a September 5 story.
Knicks get: Grant Williams, Nick Richards, $15.9 million trade exception (Randle), $2.1 million trade exception (Jericho Sims)
Hornets get: Julius Randle, Jericho Sims, Corey Kispert, Marvin Bagley III (from Wizards)
Wizards get: Josh Green (from Hornets), Cody Martin (from Hornets), 2025 Wizards protected first-rounder, 2025 Detroit Pistons protected first-rounder
Pincus explained why Williams would attract the Knicks from a basketball standpoint.
“Williams has more experience as a role player with his time in Boston with the Celtics (and briefly in Dallas with the Mavericks). Williams is the better defender and shooter of the two, with a career three-point percentage of 37.7 percent (Randle’s is 33.3 percent). While Williams isn’t traditionally tall, he plays bigger (capable at either forward position, but probably best at power forward).”
He explained some of the other appeals to the trade from the Knicks’ end, which also includes how cheap Williams’ contract is.
“More importantly, Williams has a team-friendly contract for the next three years ($40.9 million), and the Knicks address a significant issue with the loss of Hartenstein in Richards. The backup center is listed at 7’0″ and is under contract for two years ($10 million, second-year non-guaranteed).”
Hornets May Not Trade Grant Williams
Williams’ tenure with the Mavericks did not last long because he did not play well for them. However, Williams fared much better with the Hornets after they acquired him at the trade deadline.
In 29 games, Williams averaged nearly 14 points a game while shooting 50.3% from the field and 37.3% from three. It’s not the biggest sample size, but Williams looked more like the player Boston once had in Charlotte.
It helped that Charlotte was not in the playoff picture around this time, meaning there was no pressure. However, they have a very promising future with the squad they have. The Hornets have a solid youth foundation with Brandon Miller and LaMelo Ball, among others.
Because he’s cheap and still young, Charlotte may see Williams as a useful cog moving forward in a potential playoff push. Williams is also a North Carolina native.
Grant Williams’ Thoughts on Hornets’ Trade
Williams gave his honest thoughts on being traded again to Forbes’ DJ Siddiqi. Though his time in Dallas was brief, Williams believed it was best for everyone involved.
“I wasn’t surprised,” Williams told Siddiqi in a May 13 story. “I think that there was an opportunity for both teams to get a guy they want. All of us were tied to one another throughout the offseason. It’s pretty fun to say that we’ve kind of gone to our locations, and technically me and PJ both went home. I think it’s a good opportunity to notice those guys.”
The Mavericks went on to face the Celtics in the NBA Finals without Williams. Whether the trade was correlated with the Mavericks’ success is debatable. However, even if they did, Williams was also better off without them.
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