Could Celtics still leave final roster spot open after Lonnie Walker signing?

Could Celtics still leave final roster spot open after Lonnie Walker signing?

It’s easier to general manage in hindsight. But over the last 14 months, Boston Celtics general manager Brad Stevens has pushed all the right buttons.

They traded for Kristaps Porzingis in June of 2023; they fell into acquiring Jrue Holiday from Portland last October; they acquired Xavier Tillman from Memphis for pennies on the dollar. All of these moves fueled them to their first NBA Title in nearly two decades and a historically great 80-21 season.

Stevens wasn’t finished; he retained all of their top-10 contributors while drafting wing Baylor Scheierman No. 30 overall in the 2024 NBA Draft, currently viewed as another quality depth piece to a loaded core. His most recent “heist” was signing free agent guard Lonnie Walker IV.

Though the biggest twist was Walker signing an Exhibit 10 contract–a training camp deal–instead of slotting into the team’s final open roster spot. According to a recent report from Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Celtics could waive Walker ahead of the season to maintain that final spot.

“I’m told there’s a chance Walker is waived after camp to keep Boston’s 15th roster spot open going into the season,” Charania wrote.

As I stated here, teams are eligible to have six players on Exhibit 10 contracts heading into the season; most of them are waived unless they are converted to a two-way or a standard contract, neither of which are readily available at this stage of the offseason. When they’re waived, most get sent to that team’s G-League squad for the foreseeable future.

In the Celtics’ case, it would be the Maine Celtics, who fell short in the G-League Finals to the Oklahoma City Blue.

I think it would be pretty wild for Boston to now choose to save tax money to not bring Walker–far and away the best player on an Exhibit 10 leaguewide–on the 15-man roster. The Celtics own the third-highest payroll in the NBA and would only be adding $2.1 million to their books if he signed a one-year minimum. For a player of his caliber, that’s completely worth it, even if you lose short-term flexibility with that spot.

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