The Celtics took another small but meaningful step in their salary cap cleanup Thursday, waiving fifth-year guard Dalano Banton and trimming their roster to 14 players, with Amari Williams still on a two-way contract.
Banton’s exit was an easy one for Boston. His deal for the upcoming season was non-guaranteed, so the Celtics can remove his $2.8 million salary from the books without any lingering cap hit. He had appeared in six games for the 2025-26 Celtics after rejoining the team late in the season for his second stint in green.
The bigger win for Boston is financial. By moving off Banton, the Celtics are now below the $200.4 million luxury tax threshold for the 2026-27 campaign. That matters because staying under the line would reset the repeater tax penalties that have followed the franchise in recent seasons.
Those penalties are no joke. Once a team crosses that threshold for the third time in four years, the league starts ratcheting up the cost. The 2026-27 repeater rates are set at $3.00 for every $1 over the tax line from $0-$6.064 million, $3.25 for every $1 from $6.064 million to $12.128 million, $5.50 for every $1 from $12.128 million to $18.192 million, and $6.75 plus $0.50 for each additional 100 percent once a team is $18.192 million or more over.
If Boston stays below the tax this year, it would count as a second straight season as a non-taxpaying team, which would give the Celtics more flexibility to spend in the future.
Paul George played a major role in that progress. Earlier this week, the newly acquired forward waived his $3.9 million trade kicker, a move that helped Boston get closer to its goal. The number is small compared with the $54.1 million he is owed next season, but it still made a real difference.
Without that concession from George, the Celtics would have had a much harder time getting under the line. Waiving Banton might not have been enough, and Boston could have been forced into a tougher move, such as moving Sam Hauser’s $10.8 million contract or another piece from the rotation.
For now, the Celtics have cleared the path they wanted. They can enter the season with the supporting cast around Jayson Tatum intact and keep their powder dry for future opportunities.
In Other News...
Celtics May Already Be Zeroing In On Their Next Post-Brown Piece
After the Jaylen Brown trade chatter sent plenty of teams sniffing around Boston's future, the Celtics appear to be thinking less about another headline-grabbing swing and more about the kind of player who fits cleanly next to Jayson Tatum. San Antonio has been part of that conversation, but the Spurs have already shown they are willing to take a patient approach, and Keldon Johnson has emerged as the sort of useful, in-prime piece that can matter in a roster build even if he is not the loudest name on the board.
The Spurs have made a series of solid decisions lately, which is part of why they may be inclined to hold Johnson unless an offer truly changes the equation. For Boston, the appeal is obvious: if the goal is to keep shaping the roster around Tatum rather than chase another star for the sake of it, a player like Johnson becomes the kind of name worth monitoring closely as the market settles. [Read more 🡒]
Jayson Tatum Had To Admit What The Knicks Title Meant
Jayson Tatums reaction to the Knicks title was the kind of honest, conflicted answer that makes sense for a player with Bostons competitive edge. He did not hide the fact that seeing New York celebrate stung from a basketball standpoint, but he also made clear there was a personal side to it, too, with friends on the other side of the trophy chase and a level of respect that goes beyond the standings.
For the Celtics, it is another reminder of how much the league has shifted around Tatum while he has been working through injuries over the past two seasons. Boston is also adjusting to the reality of Jaylen Brown no longer being in green after the blockbuster move to Philadelphia, and Tatums own focus now is on getting back fully healthy for the 2026-27 season, when the Celtics will be hoping he can again anchor everything that comes next. [Read more 🡒]