Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer labeled the Boston Celtics as a possible landing spot for free agent and former All-NBA guard Bradley Beal. During his Tuesday live stream, Fischer pointed to Boston and the Miami Heat as possible landing spots for the 33-year-old.
“Bradley Beal has got several options,” Fischer said. “I was told today that Beal’s decision is not exactly being held up by LeBron [James], but it is being impacted by it. Because I do think there’s some Miami interest there. I wouldn’t rule out Boston for Beal because of the connection with Jayson Tatum. I even asked about that today, and I was not told to rule out Boston, so there you go.”
Signing Bradley Beal doesn't make sense for the Celtics
This rumor would’ve been a lot of fun three years ago, without the financial implications of taking on Beal’s then massive contract, of course.
Now, after a trio of rough seasons since being traded away from the Washington Wizards, it’s clear that the St. Louis native’s best years are behind him. He appeared in 106 total games for the Phoenix Suns, where he became the scapegoat for an underachieving team, despite posting an efficient 17.6 points per game.
After being exiled from Phoenix, Beal headed to the Los Angeles Clippers last summer. He broke his hip just six games into the season, and wasn’t playing particularly well up to that point. Beal averaged just 8.2 points and 1.7 assists per game on 37.5% from the field and 36.8% from deep for the Clips.
Signing Beal would undo financial work the Celtics have already done
Typically, taking a swing on a veteran who wouldn’t likely garner a huge payday wouldn’t be considered a risk for the Celtics. But, Boston finds themselves in a unique financial situation. They currently sit $1.7 million below the luxury tax threshold, after waiving Dalano Banton’s non-guaranteed contract earlier this month.
Since Beal has been in the league since the 2012-13 season, his veteran minimum contract is worth $3.8 million, which would bring the Celtics back above the tax line. I used to be the biggest “it’s not my money, what do I care?” guy ever, but having seen the financial penalties of this current collective bargaining agreement with my own eyes, I understand the decision-making.
For what it’s worth, the luxury tax isn’t the harshest of the CBA’s financial restrictions, but it can still take its toll on ownership’s willingness to spend with the repeater penalties.
The 2026-27 repeater rates are as follows:
- 0-100 percent of tax bracket amount ($0-$6.064M over): $ 3.00 for $1 over.
- 100-200 percent ($6.064M-$12.128M): $3.25 for $1
- 200-300 percent ($12.128M-$18.192M): $5:50 for $1
- 400 percent and higher ($18.192M or more): $6.75 plus $0.50 for each additional 100 percent.
Boston dove beneath the tax ahead of February’s trade deadline, but still have to stay below for one more season to fully reset the repeater penalties -- a task that becomes more difficult if they were to sign Beal.
Beal shouldn't take away minutes from any Celtics prospects
It’s also important to consider whether or not signing the veteran guard is worth taking minutes away from some of the Celtics’ other young players. If Beal is okay with joining the Cs just to get sporadic bench minutes it’s a different story, but if he’ll cost someone like Hugo Gonzalez important developmental minutes, it may just be best to stay away.
Plus, there’s this weird logjam of the two-way slots, where it feels like four players: Amari Williams, Dillon Mitchell, John Tonje, and Milos Uzan are competing for three spots. Williams already has one of the two-ways, so Boston is currently tasked with choosing between three guys who had impressive performances in Las Vegas at Summer League.
They could avoid making any sort of decision altogether if they signed Mitchell to the 15th spot using the NBA’s second-round exception. The rule allows teams to sign second-round picks without needing cap space. It also allows them to sign them for less than the minimum salary for a player with one year of NBA experience, or $2.2 million in this case.
The first year of the deal can actually be worth as little as $1.4 million, which would of course keep the Cs below the tax line. Not only does signing Mitchell make more financial sense for Boston, but his showing at Summer League was good enough to earn a standard roster spot, in my opinion.
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