The Celtics have an open two-way slot, but don’t expect it to disappear right away.
Brian Robb of MassLive says in a mailbag column that Boston is likely to wait another month or so before filling the spot. Amari Williams and Dillon Mitchell are already on two-way deals, and the team appears intent on preserving as much roster flexibility as possible heading into training camp.
That patience could pay off if the market opens up. Robb points to a league landscape in which some teams are overloaded with guaranteed contracts or crowded at certain positions, creating a chance for useful players to shake loose in free agency. He cited Neemias Queta as the kind of example Boston could hope to find again - Queta landed a two-way contract with the Celtics in September 2023 after being waived by Sacramento.
Boston also has a couple of internal candidates in the mix. Rookies Milos Uzan and Tucker DeVries will be in camp on Exhibit 10 contracts after spending Summer League with the Celtics. Robb says the roster could use another ball-handler, especially with Mike Conley’s age in mind, and that could give Uzan a path to the opening.
Elsewhere on the roster front, Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe said on the Big 3 NBA podcast that the Celtics should be prepared to pay Payton Pritchard around $22MM per year on his next deal. Pritchard is extension eligible and is set to make $7.8MM this season before $8.3MM in 2027/28. Washburn called him “one of the league’s biggest bargains” and noted that a contract at that level would still be easy to move if Boston ever chose to go that route.
The team is also set to formally welcome three of its newer faces. Souichi Terada of MassLive reports that Paul George, Mitchell Robinson and Conley will be introduced at a press conference on Tuesday. George arrived from Philadelphia in the Jaylen Brown trade and is expected to help replace the production of the All-NBA wing, while Robinson and Conley came aboard as free agents and are projected to work in reserve roles.
And Tatum’s latest signature shoe carries a detail with personal meaning. Terada says the new design will feature five lines on the right heel, meant to represent the scars on Tatum’s foot after Achilles surgery.
“Obviously this is my first full season, coming back from tearing my Achilles,” Tatum said, via Complex (Twitter video link). “What I had to learn and also accept that my experience is - anytime you go through something traumatic, you’re not the same.
You just can’t be the same person anymore. That’s not saying that you’re any worse.
It’s just different. I’ve even come to a point where I learned to appreciate not necessarily what happened but what it taught me from that journey and that process.
So aligning that with the Tatum 5, it looks different than any other shoe.”
In Other News...
Former Celtics Guard Just Chose An Intriguing Path Back To The NBA
The Celtics cleared a roster spot and picked up some salary cap relief in July when they waived Dalano Banton, a move that briefly closed the door on his run in Boston. Banton, who has already spent time in the NBA and G League, soon took a different route by signing with the Shandong Hi-Speed Kirin of the Chinese Basketball Association for his first overseas contract.
For a player still trying to carve out a longer-term NBA role, that kind of detour can be a useful one. If Banton performs well in China, it could put him back on the radar for another shot in the league, and Boston will be one of the teams watching his next step with some interest. [Read more 🡒]
Derrick White Rumors Put Celtics Fans On Edge For One Reason
The Celtics have spent the days after the Jaylen Brown trade fielding calls on Derrick White, and the message so far has been consistent: Boston is not looking to move one of its most trusted two-way guards. That alone has been enough to put fans on edge, because White has become the kind of player contenders hate to lose and opponents keep trying to pry away whenever a front office is juggling bigger roster questions.
For Boston, the noise matters because it comes at a time when the trade market is already full of moving parts, with other teams weighing expensive decisions on young stars and several guards surfacing in speculation around the league. The Celtics do not appear interested in joining that shuffle with White, but the fact that rival teams keep checking in says plenty about how valued he is and why this storyline is likely to linger. [Read more 🡒]
Celtics Have A Lot Riding On Jalen Durens Next Team
Jalen Durens next move has become one of the more intriguing pieces of the offseason market, and the stakes go well beyond Detroit. The restricted free agent is reportedly seeking a deal worth at least $200 million over five years, but the Pistons have not matched that number, leaving his situation in a tense holding pattern as teams around the league keep one eye on the possibility of a major shift.
For Boston, the ripple effects matter because a player of Durens age, size and upside rarely reaches this stage without drawing a wide circle of interest. There has been speculation that he could take the qualifying offer and head toward unrestricted free agency next summer, with mutual interest reported between him and the Sacramento Kings, and whatever happens next could influence how the market settles for other frontcourt talent across the NBA. [Read more 🡒]