Robert Williams III just played the second-most games of his career, finishing the season with 59 games played. Talent has never been the question for the two-way lob threat, but unfortunately, his injury history has been a major red flag.
The Portland Trail Blazers took on that risk when they acquired him in the initial Jrue Holiday deal with the Boston Celtics. Williams was expected to be a key asset in that package, but he totaled just 26 games played through his first two seasons in Portland.
He's finally become healthy and impactful for Portland, proving to be an invaluable piece to spell Donovan Clingan and to provide Tiago Splitter with another frontcourt dimension, better equipped to guard on the perimeter.
However, that also comes at a bad time for the Blazers, considering Time Lord is set to hit free agency this summer.
Robert Williams III boosts his value ahead of free agency
Williams is eligible to sign an extension prior to June 30, and he's certainly made a compelling case to stick around.
Despite the injury concerns, Williams has become irreplaceable in Portland. It's somewhat concerning that the Blazers need to rely so heavily on such an injury-prone backup, considering they just spent the past two first-round picks of their rebuild at the very position. That should raise major questions about the Yang Hansen selection in particular. Now, Portland has three centers, none of which can effectively play alongside each other.
Although they diminish each other's value by eating into their minutes, it's still essential that Portland keeps Williams around. He even outplayed Clingan throughout the playoff series against the Spurs to the point where we thought Splitter should've made a starting lineup adjustment.
But given the fact that he's exceeded 35 games played in just three seasons throughout his career, what's a reasonable investment?
Blazers may have to overpay to keep Robert Williams
The best solution to that dilemma may be to keep Williams around, but add in some sort of games played milestone or injury protection.
At his exit interview, Williams expressed his interest in staying in Rip City. When asked if he'd like to stick around, he responded: "Yeah, for sure. I love Portland. But everything is a negotiation."
The negotiation part is the caveat. Is Williams willing to agree to that injury protection, seeing how his career has unfolded up until this point?
After seeing his postseason performance, it's safe to say he'd still have a market should he ultimately decide to hit free agency. Bill Simmons even previously predicted that Williams could sign a three-year, $50 million deal if a playoff team takes a shot on his health.
This frontcourt situation puts Portland in a strange predicament. They still have to keep Williams around, as Hansen is nowhere near being considered a reliable contributor. Yet with Williams boosting his value right as his contract is set to expire, Portland may have no choice but to overpay for one of the most injury-prone players in the league.
Ultimately, that $50 million figure Simmons predicted may be too steep a price for Portland to pay. They still have to upgrade and retain their existing young core, particularly when it comes to Deni Avdija's next deal, as he's massively outplaying his current contract. Does Portland really want to sacrifice some of its financial flexibility for an injury-prone backup center?
After seeing how this season played out, they may not have a choice.
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