Robert Williams, Season 5: Warping the Space-Time Continuum

benhogan

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TripleOT

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What about Mo Bamba, who is on the books for two years at $10.3 million per? He has shown a serious problem with playing hard, but maybe the culture in Boston could get him going. Orlando is going with Wendell Carter Jr. as their center of the future, with Banchero and Isaacs (who should be back soon), making a nice group of young bigs. If the Magic think they can get Bamba’s production from Bol Bol at 1/5th of the cost, maybe they move on from him (Gallinari’s contract, Pritchard, and a pick). If they don’t see a need for Prichard, they can route him elsewhere.
 

benhogan

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They should just develop Kabengele. There will be a lot of open space for an athletic offensive rebounder to get easy put backs. He looks like he can move well enough to hang in their defensive scheme. Hopefully they’ll be a couple of blowouts where he gets in and shows out.

Blake looks ground bound and slow. If he can’t make over 36 percent of his threes, he will be useless. Vonleh could be ok, but can he really be a rotation big in a top NBA team? I never had a lot of confidence in Kornet, who looks to me to be barely better than a G Leaguer. If AL has to miss any games, the bigs are going to be a problem.
I'm with you on developing Kabengele's athleticism/aggressiveness.

I'd go with Vonleh + Kabengele as the backup 5s (12 fouls) until trade season & TLs return

BUT doesn't feel like Joe will go there
 

chilidawg

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What about Mo Bamba, who is on the books for two years at $10.3 million per? He has shown a serious problem with playing hard, but maybe the culture in Boston could get him going. Orlando is going with Wendell Carter Jr. as their center of the future, with Banchero and Isaacs (who should be back soon), making a nice group of young bigs. If the Magic think they can get Bamba’s production from Bol Bol at 1/5th of the cost, maybe they move on from him (Gallinari’s contract, Pritchard, and a pick). If they don’t see a need for Prichard, they can route him elsewhere.
Bol Bol got 18 minutes in game 1, Bamba only 12, so you may be on to something.
 

lexrageorge

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didn't Brad use a bucketload of minimum salaries w/Theis + Nesmith to match Malcolm?
There is no rule against trading players making the minimum, but there are some special considerations.

As minimum salaried players are considered covered the Minimum Salary Exception, incoming minimum players are not counted against the cap for the incoming team.

The complication is for accounting for outgoing minimum players. When a team trades away a minimum salaried player whose salary is partially reimbursed by the league, only the non-reimbursed portion can be used for outgoing purposes. IOW, the team can account only for their current cap value. So, while Blake Griffin is earning $2.9M this season, his outgoing trade value is only $1.8M. Similar situation applies to Vonleh and Justin Jackson. The reimbursement amount from the league is then shared between the two teams.

Trading Gallinari could make it more difficult for the Celtics to sign a similar ring-chasing vet in the offseason, so they will want to be careful there.
 

benhogan

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Trading Gallinari could make it more difficult for the Celtics to sign a similar ring-chasing vet in the offseason, so they will want to be careful there.
Thanks for the min. salary trade explanations.

If it became clear that
(1) they weren't going to use the Gallo $3.2M DPE
(2) Gallo wouldn't be able to come back this season
(3) they needed to use Gallo's full salary to add talent
(4) + DG got a 2yr deal (it was a fair deal-didn't feel like a discount)
(5) and Brad has a "good guy" reputation around the league (vs. Danny).

It would be totally reasonable to move a player, that won't play a minute, to go all out for a championship.

Most importantly, what does Brad tell Tatum, Smart, Brown Horford, Brogdon? We could have added talent, but we didn't want to hurt our reputation amongst ring-chasing bench vets?

PLUS the ring-chasing community is a group of mercenaries. They wouldn't think twice about hopping on board in future years
 

lexrageorge

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Thanks for the min. salary trade explanations.

If it became clear that
(1) they weren't going to use the Gallo $3.2M DPE
(2) Gallo wouldn't be able to come back this season
(3) they needed to use Gallo's full salary to add talent
(4) + DG got a 2yr deal (it was a fair deal-didn't feel like a discount)
(5) and Brad has a "good guy" reputation around the league (vs. Danny).

It would be totally reasonable to move a player, that won't play a minute, to go all out for a championship.

Most importantly, what does Brad tell Tatum, Smart, Brown Horford, Brogdon? We could have added talent, but we didn't want to hurt our reputation amongst ring-chasing bench vets?

PLUS the ring-chasing community is a group of mercenaries. They wouldn't think twice about hopping on board in future years
Fair points all, and agree that this team should be 100% GFIN at this point.
 

lovegtm

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There is no rule against trading players making the minimum, but there are some special considerations.

As minimum salaried players are considered covered the Minimum Salary Exception, incoming minimum players are not counted against the cap for the incoming team.

The complication is for accounting for outgoing minimum players. When a team trades away a minimum salaried player whose salary is partially reimbursed by the league, only the non-reimbursed portion can be used for outgoing purposes. IOW, the team can account only for their current cap value. So, while Blake Griffin is earning $2.9M this season, his outgoing trade value is only $1.8M. Similar situation applies to Vonleh and Justin Jackson. The reimbursement amount from the league is then shared between the two teams.

Trading Gallinari could make it more difficult for the Celtics to sign a similar ring-chasing vet in the offseason, so they will want to be careful there.
Thanks for the min salary clarification...very helpful!

@benhogan covered the Gallo considerations well. I'd just add that Gallo would be free to chase rings anywhere he wanted in summer 2023 (including Boston!), so I doubt any prospective ring chasers would feel he got a raw deal. He's made over $200M career, so a min contract rather than his $6.9M wouldn't be a big deal either.

Now I really want to do Gallo+mins for Poeltl. Tell SA you'll remove the #1 protections on the White swap and you're probably close to a deal.
 

Jimbodandy

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Thanks for the min salary clarification...very helpful!

@benhogan covered the Gallo considerations well. I'd just add that Gallo would be free to chase rings anywhere he wanted in summer 2023 (including Boston!), so I doubt any prospective ring chasers would feel he got a raw deal. He's made over $200M career, so a min contract rather than his $6.9M wouldn't be a big deal either.

Now I really want to do Gallo+mins for Poeltl. Tell SA you'll remove the #1 protections on the White swap and you're probably close to a deal.
Can't do that. It might kill pickl.
 

Van Everyman

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Kinda buried in Himmelsbach’s latest:

Exactly six weeks have passed since Robert Williams underwent maintenance surgery on his left knee. After he received a platelet-rich plasma injection about two weeks ago, there was some suggestion that his return timeline of 8-12 weeks had been pushed back. But league sources stressed that Williams remains right on schedule.
Not that I want the C’s to rush him but the idea that he could be back within 2 weeks?
 

TripleOT

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I believe it was 8-12 weeks for him to start to return to basketball activity. He's still months away from seeing the court during a game.
From The Athletic:

”Though their offense has been sharp so far, the Celtics must be dreaming about how dangerous they will be once Robert Williams returns. He said he has been “stepping it up” in workouts after returning to on-court work a couple of weeks ago. Williams said he is dunking again, feels good and has not experienced any setbacks. During workouts, he said he can do “really anything” physically.

“They just try to hold me (back from) being a little too explosive sometimes, take my time with it,” Williams said. “But pick-and-rolls, running the court, really doing a lot.”

In one sign of how far he has progressed, Williams joined the Celtics on their road trip instead of staying back in Boston. In their own way, other Celtics players showed him how much they have missed his presence in the locker room. As he started chatting with a group of reporters in front of Tatum’s locker, Tatum piped up that Williams needed to take his conversation somewhere else. And when Williams said his Celtics teammates need him, just like he needs them, Smart also gave Williams a hard time.

“Nobody needs you, Rob,” Smart called over.”
 

Euclis20

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From The Athletic:

”Though their offense has been sharp so far, the Celtics must be dreaming about how dangerous they will be once Robert Williams returns. He said he has been “stepping it up” in workouts after returning to on-court work a couple of weeks ago. Williams said he is dunking again, feels good and has not experienced any setbacks. During workouts, he said he can do “really anything” physically.

“They just try to hold me (back from) being a little too explosive sometimes, take my time with it,” Williams said. “But pick-and-rolls, running the court, really doing a lot.”

In one sign of how far he has progressed, Williams joined the Celtics on their road trip instead of staying back in Boston. In their own way, other Celtics players showed him how much they have missed his presence in the locker room. As he started chatting with a group of reporters in front of Tatum’s locker, Tatum piped up that Williams needed to take his conversation somewhere else. And when Williams said his Celtics teammates need him, just like he needs them, Smart also gave Williams a hard time.

“Nobody needs you, Rob,” Smart called over.”
Very good to see, thanks.
 

radsoxfan

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Guy has a bad knee. I'd prefer that they used a different word besides "grinding".
Seriously lol. “Timelord sliding smoothly though rehab, can’t wait to get back on the court.”

IT is always talking about grinding in his social media too…. I always cringe when I think about his poor hip that’s been ground to dust.
 

Imbricus

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Eh, I wish they'd give him more time. There's absolutely no rush. I wouldn't try to bring him back until Christmas at the earliest. Knee injuries are tough, and the Celts are on a roll right now so why not give him plenty of time to rehab. I was very queasy about the way they got him back onto the court so quickly last year for the playoffs.
 

SteveF

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I was figuring early January. I have to assume they won't play him in B2Bs this season and, maybe, permanently going forward.
 

HomeRunBaker

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I was figuring early January. I have to assume they won't play him in B2Bs this season and, maybe, permanently going forward.
Yeah there is no need for him to ever play in a B2B this year especially how so many of our heathy starters are not even playing in them. Once we hit the tougher part of our schedule it would make more sense for these healthy players to suck it up rather than TL.
 

lovegtm

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Yeah there is no need for him to ever play in a B2B this year especially how so many of our heathy starters are not even playing in them. Once we hit the tougher part of our schedule it would make more sense for these healthy players to suck it up rather than TL.
Yes, I would be utterly shocked if he plays any B2Bs this year.

The team clearly thinks that B2Bs are best avoided for anyone with any health issues (or age issues, in Horford's case).
 

lexrageorge

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As he is joining the shoot around, the assumption is that he is pain free, which is good news.

As for the timing of TL's return, there is unfortunately no "magic bullet" regarding the ideal timing. There is a point where the knee is as healed as it's going to be and further rest is not going to help much. In fact, given that there will likely be some lingering discomfort that periodically reoccurs as Williams' ramps up his workouts or returns to playing, it may be more beneficial to have him go through that discomfort stage earlier as opposed to April and May.

The only other argument for delaying his return is that fewer regular season games would mean less chance of injury prior to the playoffs. The problem is that this type of knee condition doesn't really work that way. There is no easy to predict if and when his knee deteriorates to the point where he would have to miss more time or perhaps undergo additional surgery. The risk of injury will always be there with Williams, and not much can be done.

Managing minutes and avoiding B2B's seems therefore to be the best way to get him ready yet rested and healthy for the playoffs.
 

DGreenwood

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When fully healthy, this team is deep enough that they could handle B2B back games with a split squad mentality and still be competitive in most of the games.

Brown, Al, and Smart sit one of the games and then Tatum, TL, and Brogdon sit the other.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Yes, I would be utterly shocked if he plays any B2Bs this year.

The team clearly thinks that B2Bs are best avoided for anyone with any health issues (or age issues, in Horford's case).
Neither Tatum nor Brown played both ends of this most recent B2B either. That’s how you load manage a player……not by limiting him to 35 min in close games. Joey Mazz…..freakin incredible to see this materialize.
 

Lazy vs Crazy

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Yeah I just got like 7 Tweets in a row on my timeline about him being "Day to day" and continuing to repeat "day to day" with a smile.

Great timing with Horford out with Covid for a bit.
 

Reverend

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The full-time return of the FEE SAFETY BIG will help a lot. Plus he'll make it easy to play INSIDE OUT with his kick passing from the paint

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fneSFhUOlk
The script for that intro was really well written. Loved the discussion not just of rim protection but of what he brings to the offense: “Dime Lord” is a pretty great take there. Thanks for posting!
 

MyDaughterLovesTomGordon

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Happy Day of TimeLord's Return to all who celebrate.

My memory of other TimeLord Return Days is that it generally takes him a little while to shake off the rust, and I think his conditioning is going to be still catching up, since it's hard to work on cardio while rehabbing a knee. My guess is we get about 15 minutes tonight and he's mostly a non-factor, but we get at least one major block (maybe at the three-point line) that reminds us just who it is that has the power to stop time.

(Also, not sure if people have been paying attention to the Magic, but they've become legit in short order. These games are not walkovers. We could use some Rob Williams because the Magic are long and athletic.)
 

Euclis20

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Happy Day of TimeLord's Return to all who celebrate.

My memory of other TimeLord Return Days is that it generally takes him a little while to shake off the rust, and I think his conditioning is going to be still catching up, since it's hard to work on cardio while rehabbing a knee. My guess is we get about 15 minutes tonight and he's mostly a non-factor, but we get at least one major block (maybe at the three-point line) that reminds us just who it is that has the power to stop time.

(Also, not sure if people have been paying attention to the Magic, but they've become legit in short order. These games are not walkovers. We could use some Rob Williams because the Magic are long and athletic.)
Indeed. 4 straight wins against anyone means they aren't a pushover, and all 4 were against playoff contenders (ATL, TOR x 2, LAC).