Celtics Finally Make Amari Williams Contract Decision

When the 2025-26 free agency window opened, they agreed to a two-year deal with 26-year-old center Luka Garza. Shortly after, they added Garza’s former Minnesota Timberwolves team Josh Minott to a two-year contract. However, they signed 2025 No. 28 pick Hugo Gonzalez to a standard rookie contract that same day. Last week, they signed dynamic veteran Chris Boucher to a one-year deal.

With those four newcomers, they had 15 players on standard contracts. To be frank, not all of them are on fully-guaranteed deals. Nevertheless, there were prohibitive costs to waiving them. In fact, the only player who’s likely to be waived prior to the 2025-26 season opener is Hayden Gray, an undrafted rookie on an Exhibit 10 contract.

What He Brings To The Celtics

As a two-way player, Williams will be limited to playing 50 games with the Celtics. The rest of that time will be spent with their G League affiliate.

This isn’t the worst situation for a young player. For starters, it could help them make a smoother transition from the collegiate level to the NBA level. In addition, a call-up isn’t the ultimate reward for playing well during G League assignments. There’s also a remote possibility that Williams will have his two-way contract upgraded to a standard contract.

With that in mind, the Celtics have a few respectable centers in Garza, Xavier Tillman Sr. and Neemias Queta.

However, Williams has the most upside.

He projects to be a better shot-blocker than Garza or Tillman. He’s already a better playmaker than all of them. His rebounding is on par with theirs. On a higher volume, his 3-point shooting will be too. Then there’s his ability to create for himself off the dribble, which really separates him from the crowd.