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Celtics forward Grant Williams is set to be a free agent this summer after four hard fought seasons on the Boston parquet.
While there’s a chance the two sides work together ahead of free agency to potentially strike a deal according to a report, it seems more likely that they end up tendering a qualifying offer on Williams worth $8.5 million, setting up a restricted free agency for the veteran role player.
This potential “summer of Grant” got WEEI’s Gresh and Fauria thinking about the former Tennessee Volunteer, and the impact he’s had in Boston:
“Grant is probably the smartest guy in the [Celtics] room,” said former Patriots tight end Christian Fauria when talking about Williams. “I do think he’s smarter than [Brown and Tatum].”
“To the ‘great player’ Grant Williams is a try hard,” co-host Andy Gresh said back. “And that’ll bug those guys.”
Fauria went onto compare Williams’ antics to a former teammate of his. One who he won two Super Bowls alongside:
“This is the closest comp I can get,” Fauria explained. “Tully Banta-Cain was the Grant Williams of the Patriots. He was the ultimate ‘try-hard’... we all rolled our eyes whenever he talked.”
“SCOUT TEAM HERO!” Gresh sang.
“Yeah, that’s who he was, and it was like ‘oh god, this guy won’t shut the hell up.’ and the next thing you know the San Francisco 49ers are paying him, real money! They gave him a new contract. They regretted it, but he got paid!”
You can listen to the full segment below:
Gresh and Fauria: Should the Celtics re-sign Grant Williams?
Banta-Cain signed a 3-year $12 million deal with San Francisco in the Spring of 2007 and, much like others, was a boomerang player - returning to New England just two years later.
Guys like Al Horford and Daniel Theis have done the same with the Celtics, so perhaps theres a chance that Grant goes out, gets paid, and then finds his way back to the TD Garden again in the coming years.
The moral of the story? Maybe these guys are more valuable than you may realize in the moment.
"He was so irritating," Fauria said, finishing his thought on the former teammate. "I ended up growing to like him, but at first, he was Grant Williams. He was always Grant Williams... then you're like 'wow, they're putting him in on third down situations and getting sacks!'"
Make sure to follow Mike on Twitter @mikekadlick, and follow @WEEI for the latest up-to-date Patriots and Boston sports news!
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