Where Celtics’ roster stands after reported Banton contract details originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Are the Boston Celtics done adding impact players to their 2023-24 roster?
That’s a question worth asking amid a busy offseason that’s seen the departures of Marcus Smart and Grant Williams and the additions of Kristaps Porzingis, Oshae Brissett and Dalano Banton. If you believe replacing Smart and Williams for Porzingis makes the Celtics worse, not better, then you may want the team to add another piece or two before the regular season begins in October.
But how much can Boston add to its roster as currently constructed?
According to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto, Banton’s two-year contract with the Celtics is partially guaranteed for both the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons, with a team option for the 2024-25 season. Per Sportsnet’s Blake Murphy, just $200,000 of Banton’s current salary is guaranteed, with his guaranteed money jumping to $1 million if he makes the final roster.
Banton joins Luke Kornet and Justin Champagnie as the three Celtics players on non-guaranteed or partially-guaranteed contracts. That means the C’s could part with any of these players without a significant financial penalty if they found a better option in free agency. Boston also has one open roster spot (second-year guard J.D. Davison is on a two-way deal), so president of basketball operations Brad Stevens technically has up to four roster spots to play with between now and mid-October.
The Celtics are relatively short on salary cap space, with just $3.4 million to spend before they hit the second apron, per Spotrac. Stevens recently expressed a desire to acquire more wing depth as well as a “4/3 type,” so the most likely scenario is that Kornet, Champagnie and Banton all remain on the roster, with a low-cost depth piece joining the squad in that 15th roster spot.
If a bigger name shakes free over the next three months, however, Boston does have the option of releasing any of the three players listed above to clear additional cap space.