Vince Williams Jr. gets a well-deserved promotion

The Memphis Grizzlies have signed Vince Williams Jr. to a three-year, $7.9M deal with a team option in year 4. His two-way impact helps the Grizzlies core now and beyond.

The Memphis Grizzlies and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski announced that they have converted Vince Williams Jr. to a 3-year, $7.9M guaranteed contract. There’s a team option for the 4th season, but the salary on that year was undisclosed.

Williams has been one of the few bright spots in a tenacious season, emerging as a legitimate 3-and-D wing in this team’s rotation. His conversion from a two-way contract was always a matter of “when,” rather than “if.”

At a point of this era where the Grizzlies are searching for the big wing, they’ve found a big wing — as we’ve seen through recent NBA contenders … the more, the merrier.

Williams provides needed depth. He can fill in as a starter if anyone’s out of the lineup — and he should remain one for the rest of the season after Morant’s injury. He also brings role depth, a defensive stopper that could fill in if Marcus Smart needed a breather or if they’re facing a team with multiple dynamic offensive weapons.

It’s something Williams has proven this season.

In the wake of Smart’s injury, Williams stepped up to the plate as the guy to defend the toughest perimeter option each and every night — whether it was Kevin Durant, Luka Doncic, Devin Booker, or Tyrese Haliburton. He’s thrived as a perimeter with his activity and length (6’6” with a 7’0” wingspan). In the process, he’s ranked in 94th percentile in defensive estimated plus/minus (+2.2) and in the 91st percentile in D-LEBRON Box (+1.1), per dunksandthrees and The B-Ball Index.

Williams is also an event creator and an extra possessions generator — two things they’ve missed with the departures of De’Anthony Melton and Kyle Anderson, as well as the injuries to Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke. His block percentage (1.3) falls in the 93rd percentile among wings, per Cleaning the Glass. He also ranks in the 90th percentile in offensive rebound percentage off missed field goals (5%) and in the 99th percentile in defensive rebound percentage off missed field goals (18%).

Coupling his elite traits with budding shooting (35.1% on 3.5 attempts per game), it has cultivated into Vince Williams Jr. being one of the most impactful players on the team. The Grizzlies are performing 12.7 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor than off, per Cleaning the Glass. He’s just an impact player that does the little things and the dirty work in order to put this team in position to win ball games.

So what does this mean for the Grizzlies going forward?

For starters, this contract is an incredible value deal, as Zach Kleiman follows a Sam Hinkie type deal, again — lower-scale deals with long-term commitments filled with guarantees and options. He’s given this to players like John Konchar, Xavier Tillman, Killian Tillie, and Kenneth Lofton Jr. Williams’ average annual salary is around $2.6M, if calculated by his guaranteed money divided by 3 years. The Grizzlies are about to have Desmond Bane on a max contract next year, and Jaren Jackson Jr. could be due for an extension soon. The team is going to get more expensive, so nabbing an impactful rotation player for the next few years on this type of contract helps their books quite a bit.

Secondly, it could impact their deadline plans one way or another. It seemed inevitable for the Grizzlies to make a 2-for-1 trade to convert Williams, but instead they waived Bismack Biyombo — who was a great veteran addition for them, a real pro’s pro. So what now? Do they just go after a big man on a two-way deal and wait it out for the offseason? Or, do they still go out and make moves? It remains to be seen, but becomes more interesting with 4 wings all on rookie-scale money the next two years.

Whatever may line up for the Grizzlies in the coming months and years, it’s undeniable that they unearthed a gem out of last year’s second round. As Wojnarowski pointed out, Williams has a chance to become a part of the Grizzlies’ core, a clear fit with his two-way skillset from the wing position.

Vince Williams Jr. has become an injection of life into the team’s construct, and should continue to do so for the coming years after earning a well-deserved promotion.