The Boston Celtics now have a complete roster. After spending most of the season with 14 players, signing Dalano Banton puts them at full capacity with 15. With Banton on the team, Boston evidently wanted to bring back a familiar face.
One particularly genius and handsome sportswriter saw this coming almost a week before it happened, but that's really because it made too much sense in the world for it not to happen. They brought Banton back before earlier this season, and he knows how Joe Mazzulla's system operates.
However, with the signing, Banton now gets the chance to be on a team competing for a championship, which, after everything he has been through, he certainly deserves.
Banton has been fighting like crazy to stay in the NBA. He has paid his dues and has always been a good soldier, both during his stints with Boston and after they traded him. There's been two-way loyalty: trading him to Portland technically meant he missed out on being part of their latest title team, but he also got the chance to show out in Portland. And when it was all said and done, they gave him a ring.
And now he gets to be along for the ride for a run at Banner 19! In other words, he gets to do something he never got the chance to in his first go-round in Boston. Can you say "full circle?"
The odds of him playing legitimate playoff minutes are next to none, but for the situation Boston was in with the limited options at their disposal, Banton was the best man for the job.
This is somehow both an old & new move for Brad Stevens
Stevens MO since becoming the President of Basketball Operations for the Celtics has been bringing back Celtics alumni for Round 2. Fans know this, but despite bringing back Al Horford, Daniel Theis, and Enes Freedom, the only time this paid off fantastically on the court was with Horford, though the chain reaction of trading Freedom, then Theis, ultimately led to Jrue Holiday.
So Banton fits under this umbrella, with the one difference being that he is the first player Stevens has brought back since becoming an executive. The aforementioned trio were specifically players that Stevens coached before he opted he bring them back once he transitioned to his front office role.
We're nearing five years into the Brad Stevens GM era in Boston. This is actually the first time he has made a move like this since bringing Theis back in 2022. Bringing Banton back is not necessarily a game-changer for what Boston wants to do, but it is a nice story for what it is.