After moving on from Chris Boucher on Thursday, the Celtics promoted from within to fill his vacated roster spot.
Boston converted rookie center Amari Williams’ two-way contract into a two-year, $2.7 million standard deal that runs through next season, Williams’ agent told NBA insider Marc Stein.
Williams, a second-round draft pick out of Kentucky, has appeared in 13 games for the Celtics this season, including two starts in late January. He made pivotal late-game plays in Boston’s double-overtime win over Brooklyn on Jan. 23, and tallied a career-high nine points and seven rebounds in a Jan. 26 victory over Portland.
“I thought he looked exceptional,” teammate Jaylen Brown said after the Trail Blazers game.
Williams also has made 21 appearances for Boston’s G League team, averaging 15.3 points, 11.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks for the Maine Celtics.
Head coach Joe Mazzulla has favored Williams over veteran reserve bigs Xavier Tillman and Chris Boucher in recent weeks, using him as the team’s third center behind Neemias Queta and Luka Garza. Boston reportedly traded Boucher to Utah ahead of Thursday’s NBA trade deadline along with a second-round pick it acquired in Tuesday’s Anfernee Simons-for-Nikola Vucevic swap.
The Celtics converted contracts of two-way players in each of the previous two seasons (Queta in 2024 and guard JD Davison in 2025), but those transactions both came much later in the regular season.
Williams likely will be fourth on Boston depth chart moving forward behind Vucevic, Queta and Garza. It’s unclear whether Vucevic — a 35-year-old veteran center in his 15th NBA season — will start or come off the bench.