With the NBA season officially set to kick off on Tuesday, we’re seeing teams all over the league take care of their final pieces of business. That means putting the finishing touches on rosters by doling out two-way contracts, making cuts, and finalizing any other contract decisions in these final days to be in league compliance.
That means a maximum of 15 standard contracts and three two-way contracts, with many teams still having decisions to make in these final hours. The Celtics made a lot of those decisions on Saturday, handing their final two-way spot to Devin Carter and waiving Milos Uzan, Gabe McGlothan, Tucker DeVries, and Hayden Gray.
That seemed like a fairly simple decision, as Carter was recently brought in and quickly made an impact in training camp and his lone preseason appearance. A 2024 lottery pick who was traded by the Kings and then waived by the Hawks, he has by far the most talent and pedigree of any of the Celtics’ options. The recently waived players will hopefully pass through waivers and make it onto the Maine Celtics G League roster for the upcoming season, where they can continue to develop.
But that still leaves the Celtics with 14 players on standard contracts, meaning they have a 15th and final spot open. But don’t expect them to fill that slot any time soon, as the team is sitting roughly $1.7 million below the luxury tax line as things stand - a very important number to monitor.
Boston has done a lot of work to get under the tax in the last couple of years, and at this point, they’re on the verge of staying under the tax for a second straight season and finally resetting the dreaded repeater tax, which will give them much more financial freedom in the coming years.
Celtics will likely keep 15th roster spot open until trade deadline
Signing a veteran player to a minimum contract at this point would put the team just a hair over the tax, and with 14 players plus a few two-way guys who look worthy of rotation minutes, it makes no sense to add another player just to sit at the end of the bench, possibly block the development of young guys, and push the team just over the tax.
Instead, it makes much more sense for the Celtics to start the season with 14 players, as they have done several times in recent years. They can see how the roster looks, see how the young players grow, and see if they have any glaring needs.
This also gives them a chance to monitor free agents and the buyout market, plus leaves an opportunity to be more flexible in the trade market. After the deadline, they can reassess where things stand and bring someone in on a prorated minimum deal that would keep them below the tax.
The most likely outcome is that the Celtics convert one of the two-way guys to a standard deal later in the season, possibly Carter, which would lock him up and keep the team under the tax, while allowing them to add another player from Maine on a two-way deal. That’s the path they took last season, and it looks like we may be seeing it again.
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