Dalano Banton, who spent the first half of the 2022-23 season with the Boston Celtics, is currently fighting for his NBA life. Boston traded him to the Portland Trail Blazers, and he’s played there for the past two seasons. However, the Blazers have seemingly made the decision not to bring him back on board heading into next year. But other teams have taken an interest:
“After stints with Toronto, Boston and Portland, Dalano Banton continues to chase an NBA roster spot despite interest from teams abroad,” reported Marc Stein of The Stein Line. “Banton has auditioned recently for NBA teams such as Golden State and Indiana; I've been apprised that the Pacers passed.”
The question is, where will he land?
Where could Dalano Banton play next?
Banton only appeared in 24 games for the Celtics during the 2023-24 season, and since he was traded at the deadline, he didn’t get to enjoy the eventual championship run Boston went on.
In his 24 appearances, Banton played just 7.1 minutes per contest. He averaged 2.3 points and 1.5 rebounds while shooting 37.3% from the floor and 12.5% from beyond the arc.
But while Banton didn’t earn many opportunities on the stacked 2023-24 Celtics roster, he played well once he joined the Blazers, making the most of his minutes.
In the 30 games he played in Portland after being traded there, Banton got 29.2 minutes per game. He averaged 16.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.6 assists while shooting 40.8% from the floor and 31.1% from deep on 6.1 three-point attempts.
Based on Stein’s reporting, the Golden State Warriors and Indiana Pacers were two teams that showed an interest in Banton this summer, though the latter of the two seems to have moved on.
The Warriors still have a ton of roster spots to fill out ahead of next year, as they are waiting on the conclusion of the Jonathan Kuminga contract situation.
Guys like Al Horford and De’Anthony Melton are also supposedly waiting to sign with Golden State once they sort out the Kuminga issue. The same can be said for Seth Curry and Gary Payton II.
Adding Banton to the mix would give the Warriors some solid size at the guard position, though they will already have plenty of depth at the one and two, based on the players they are projected to sign.
It looks like Banton’s time in the NBA could be in danger of coming to a close.