Chris Mannix joins Chris Forsberg and Amina Smith join Arbella Early Edition with Trenni to discuss the state of the Celtics, and whether or not they are better after acquiring Kristaps Porzingis for Marcus Smart and Grant Williams.
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 Marcus Smart and Grant Williams head out the door and Kristaps Porzingis, Oshae Brissett and Dalano Banton come in. 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.
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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.
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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 (J.D. Davison and Jay Scrubb are on two-way deals), 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. While Stevens recently expressed a desire to acquire more wing depth as well as a "4/3 type," he'd likely be limited to adding players on veteran minimum contracts.
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But if Boston wants to clear up a bit more cap space for a slightly larger move, the team can always part with one of the three players listed above -- Champagnie would seem to be the most likely candidate -- to gain a bit more financial flexibility.
