By waiving Dalano Banton, the Boston Celtics have trimmed their roster to 14 players on standard contracts, the NBA's minimum. It's possible that Boston may roll into the season with the roster, but it's also possible they may look for more help to round out the edges, so bringing in Bradley Beal makes sense.
Beal's friendship with Tatum is well-documented, which is why he's come up as a potential target before. Without repeating ourselves, Beal is still a good player on paper with plenty of intrigue. Like the recently acquired Paul George, Beal's best days are behind him, but the last time we saw him play a full season, he was a quality player on a dysfunctional team in Phoenix.
If the Celtics were to add him, he would be their third guard next to Derrick White and Payton Pritchard. That's definitely a steep drop compared to what Phoenix and even Los Angeles thought he was capable of. Boston made that work with Anfernee Simons, so if they wanted to do the same with Beal, one of Tatum's oldest friends, it's fair to believe he'd be ready when his name is called.
At present, Beal's value is at its lowest. In fact, it's pretty shocking he opted out of his contract with the Clippers. Like Tatum, he had an injury-shortened season, but his went in the opposite direction: he bowed out not too long after the season started, while Tatum came back before the season's end.
Pending any surprises, Beal can be had for a veteran's minimum. It's a paycut he'd likely be comfortable taking after the Suns waived and stretched the remainder of his $96.9 million contract over five years.
However, any NBA fan with a novice understanding of the NBA's current Collective Bargaining Agreement probably knows it isn't that simple.
The benefits of waiving Banton may prevent adding Beal
It's not like waiving Banton is some heartbreaking or franchise-altering decision for the Celtics. However, Boston did this to get themselves under the luxury tax after the moves they have made. George also had something to do with that by waiving his trade kicker. All in all, those moves would indicate the plan is to avoid the repeater tax.
Hence, even if Beal makes sense, the Celtics may avoid adding him because of the financial implications. At least for now. Besides, Boston already signaled that they believe Mike Conley Jr. is that third guard unless something else is done.
So as much as adding Beal would add up, Boston may also simply wait a year when they've avoided the repeater tax to make it happen.
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