The newest member of the Boston Celtics, Charles Bassey, was at TD Garden for Monday’s matchup with the Phoenix Suns. It was the first time he’d headed to the arena since inking a 10-day deal with the Cs over the weekend.
Bassey’s contract mostly comes as part of a larger ploy by the Cs to avoid the luxury tax this season. After offloading the likes of Josh Minott, Chris Boucher, and Xavier Tillman Sr., at last month’s trade deadline, they set themselves up to miss the tax threshold if they play their cards right with 10-day contracts.
Adding Bassey gives the Celtics continuity, according to Joe Mazzulla
Nonetheless, adding Bassey, even for a short stint, enables the organization to continue to build on the relationship they began with him in Las Vegas last summer -- something head coach Joe Mazzulla clearly values.
“He was good for us in summer league,” Mazzulla praised pregame. “I think anytime you can just continue to build a relationship, relationships with the assistants, relationship with our language, with some of the stuff from summer league that carried over to now. Anytime you can have that continuity, it kind of helps you, especially in a short period of time, right?”
The big man appeared in three Summer League games for the Celtics and played quite well.
He averaged 15.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per outing while he shot 70.4 percent from the field.
“So just the ability for him, you know, to potentially be able to help us is huge,” Mazzulla added. “So he was great for us in summer league. And I think just having him on the roster for this time period would be good for us as well.”
Boston can manuever to sign Bassey through the playoffs and avoid the luxury tax
Bassey is the second former Celtic who has come back on a short-term deal this season. Dalano Banton, who spent the first half of the 2023-24 season with the Cs, spent another week and a half in green last month.
Whether or not this contract will be Bassey’s last with the team or not still remains unclear. According to Spotrac’s Keith Smith, it is possible for Boston to keep Bassey with them into the playoffs, while also converting Ron Harper Jr.’s two-way contract to a standard deal.
Yes, they should be able to fill out the roster to 15 by the end of the regular season.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) March 17, 2026
Prior to joining the Cs, Bassey played out 10-day contracts with both the Memphis Grizzlies and Philadelphia 76ers this season. He appeared in three total games, averaging 3.0 points and 2.7 rebounds per outing.