According to Brian Robb of MassLive, it seems likely that the Boston Celtics will decide to keep their 15th roster spot open heading into next season in an attempt to maximize tax savings. After waiving JD Davison, the Celtics now only have 14 players on the roster.
“The guess from me at this point would be that the Celtics keep that final roster spot open for the tax savings,” Robb wrote in a mailbag. “That would leaves Boston’s roster at 13 healthy players with Tatum out but the team also has three two-way players that can come up at any point for depth purposes if other injuries hit. If the Celtics do end up making another signing like Simmons, it wouldn’t surprise me if the team tries to move another contract before opening night to get back down to 14 players. Boston could also just cut someone like Jordan Walsh ahead of opening night if he has a tough preseason in order to take a minimal cap hit like you said but that feels unlikely at this point after his summer performance.”
The question is, what movement is left to come?
What else will the Celtics do this summer?
Robb’s mailbag answer was in response to a question asking about who the Celtics should add to fill out the roster. And while Boston may not add a 15th player, they have been linked to some names throughout the summer.
Boston reportedly had interest in Ben Simmons, who is still a free agent. In addition to that, Charles Bassey, who played for the Celtics during Summer League, is supposedly interested in joining the team. However, whether or not that interest is mutual is left to be seen.
Adding another body to the roster right now would put the Celtics at 15 players, though, which means more moves are likely coming if they want to make more additions to the squad.
Plus, there’s still the potential Anfernee Simons trade hanging over the Celtics’ head. Perhaps Simons is still on the Celtics’ roster heading into the season, but all reports have indicated the team’s desire to trade him since he joined the roster via the Portland Trail Blazers in the Jrue Holiday trade.
If he does get moved, it would likely be for the same reason that the Celtics are trying to keep their 15th roster spot open—money.
Boston has made it abundantly clear that they are trying to get below the second apron next season, and trading Simons’ contract would give them significantly more room to work under that mark.