If you’re not totally tapped into the Celtics’ salary sheets and the minutiae of the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement, it’s easy to be confused by many of their transactions dating back to the trade deadline. The team salary dumped three players to get under the luxury tax, but it left them with only 11 players on the roster.
They converted Amari Williams’ two-way contract to a standard deal, making him the 11th player. But now, the team is finally out of days to carry fewer than 14 players, hence their two Saturday signings: Max Shulga from a two-way and Charles Bassey to a 10-day.
When the news came out, there was some concern and confusion as to why the Celtics wouldn’t have used one of the spots on Ron Harper Jr., who remains on a two-way deal. RHJ has broken out recently, playing some big minutes for the Celtics and looking like a legitimate two-way 3&D role player, at the very least.
But fear not, Celtics fans, this was all part of the plan, and the team is still expected to sign Harper Jr. before the end of the season, which will make him active for the playoffs.
Celtics’ moves are all about money
These moves they’re making are simply to cover the league rules and remain under the tax, just barely. The margins are so fine that they have to operate in this very specific way: using 10-day minimum contracts and converting two-way rookies who can make the bare minimum.
Harper Jr. has, of course, played much better than Williams and Shulga this season, and the same goes for John Tonje, Dalano Banton, and Charles Bassey. But Harper Jr. isn’t a rookie, and he has been active for just 31 games this season. He would cost the team slightly more to convert, and he has plenty of games left (two-way guys are allowed to be active for 50 games for the NBA team).
Celtics still expected to sign Ron Harper Jr. to standard contract
The expectation, as pointed out by Keith Smith and our own Bobby Krivitsky, is that the Celtics will sign Harper Jr. later in the season, once they can afford to while staying under the tax. Maybe it will be once Bassey’s 10-day contract expires, maybe it will be after multiple 10-days, or maybe it won’t be until the very last game of the regular season.
But it makes too much sense not to happen. RHJ has given Joe Mazzulla another option on the wing who can play defense, knock down threes, and do a little bit of everything. That’s an extremely valuable player to have, and while the Celtics are sitting pretty at the position, you can never have too many.
Brad Stevens and company look like they’ve found yet another diamond in the rough, and there’s no way this front office isn’t going to take advantage of and make sure that he’s locked up to keep developing in Boston and contributing to the Celtics.