The Golden State Warriors have the second-best odds of landing former All-NBA Defensive center Robert Williams III.
According to offshore sportsbook Bovada, the Warriors’ +255 odds are only trailing the Los Angeles Lakers (+185). The Milwaukee Bucks (+375) and Williams’ former team Boston Celtics (+475), Houston Rockets (+600), New York Knicks (+750) and the Toronto Raptors (+800) round up the betting list for the next landing spot for the oft-injured center.
Williams’ future in Portland became murky after the Trail Blazers loaded up on young centers in the past two NBA drafts. They picked two-time NCAA champion Donovan Clingan at No. 7 last year, then nabbed CBA Defensive Player of the Year Hansen Yang with the No. 16 pick in last June’s draft. Duop Reath is the fourth center on the Trail Blazers roster.
Robert Williams III is a Trade Candidate
GettyPortland Trail Blazers center Robert Williams III is a trade candidate for the Golden State Warriors.
Williams is a trade candidate for the Trail Blazers with his expiring salary. He is due for $13.3 million in the upcoming season, the final year of his four-year, $48 million contract.
The Warriors have been looking for a center after the departure of Kevon Looney in free agency.
Williams, however, is a walking injury risk. He had only appeared in a combined 26 games over his two seasons in Portland. His final year in Boston also saw him playing only 35 games.
Still 27, Williams can be a defensive force if he can stay on the court. He’s only three seasons removed from his best season in the NBA. During his breakout year in the 2021-22 season, the 6-foot-9 center who has a 7-foot-6 wingspan averaged career highs across the board: 10.0 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.2 blocks. He was subsequently named to the All-NBA Defensive Second Team.
Second Celtics Center Linked to Warriors
Williams is the second former Celtics center linked to the Warriors.
Veteran center Al Horford, who won a championship in Boston in 2024, is expected to sign with the Warriors as a free agent, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.
“I appeared Tuesday on 95.7 (FM) The Game in the Bay Area and will repeat here what I said there: We are indeed three full weeks into free agency now, but I still expect Al Horford and De’Anthony Melton to wind up in Golden State when their signing commitments are made public and official,” Stein wrote on his Substack newsletter “The Stein Line” on July 20.
Horford has been linked to the Warriors since the NBA free agency began, while Melton thrived next to franchise star Stephen Curry in their backcourt last season before an ill-timed ACL injury kept him out for the rest of the season.
Jonathan Kuminga Holds Up Golden State Offseason
Getty Jonathan Kuminga of the Golden State Warriors dunks the ball against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal playoffs.
Stein added that the Warriors’ free agency business has been held up in large part by their ongoing stalemate with restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga.
This prevailing notion of the Warriors’ silent offseason has also been shared by ESPN’s senior NBA insider Shams Charania.
“They have wanted to figure out his situation before making their other offseason moves,” Charania said on ESPN’s “NBA Today” on July 24. “I saw Jonathan Kuminga this morning at a workout in Miami. He’s in good spirits. He had a good workout.”
However, Kuminga told Charania that he is in “absolutely no rush on doing a deal with the Warriors right now” while mulling all options, including a sign-and-trade that is available in the market.
The Warriors remain the only NBA team that has not made any signings in free agency, with only nine players under contract for the upcoming 2025-26 season.
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