Fifteen of the 17 players who helped the Celtics capture Banner 18 will be there to see it raised to the rafters at TD Garden ahead of Boston’s opening rivalry clash against the Knicks to kick off the 2024-25 NBA season.
The defending champions also have the option to sign an additional player on a standard contract. Even after agreeing to a one-year pact with Lonnie Walker IV, according to ESPN Adrien Wojnarowskithis remains the case.
According to Shams Charania According to The Athletic, Boston signed him to an Exhibit 10 contract. This allows the Celtics to give Walker a bonus if he is released after training camp and plays for their G League affiliate in Maine.
In Paris at the Olympics, Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens, said Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe: “We’re just going to monitor the health of our team and see how everybody’s doing, and if there are any issues that come up between now and September that we really need to address, then we could take advantage of that.”
“But right now, I would say it’s unlikely. We’re still looking to sign a couple of Tier 10 players whose most likely path is going to be to play in Maine. But we’ll see.”
After several double-digit performances off the Lakers bench in the 2023 playoffs, helping Los Angeles reach the Western Conference Finals, Walker joined the Nets for the 2023-24 campaign.
In Brooklyn, the 1.93-m guard averaged 9.7 points and made 38.4 percent of his 4.7 three-pointers in 17.4 minutes of play over 58 games. He’ll have to adjust to a role in Boston’s “Stay Ready Group,” aka their expanded rotation, but neither the six-year veteran nor the team would have agreed to that if one side didn’t believe he was ready to do so.
While the Celtics have a defensive bulldog in Jaden Springer and Baylor Scheierman, their most trusted first-round pick in their extended rotation, vying for bigger roles, if Walker parlays this opportunity into a standard contract, he’ll add more firepower to the second unit.
His arrival could also prove to be bad news for the possibility of Oshae Brissett’s return. It’s a prospect he recently stated on his vlog, Brissy TVthat he had not ruled out. He also called his year in Boston “the best season of my career,” not only because he became an NBA champion, but also because he “grew so much as a player” while “working out every day with Hall of Famers.”
The Boston Celtics on SI recently explored Brissett’s best options in free agencyincluding the possibility that he could potentially find a home with another title contender if he does not join the reigning champions for their next title defense.
Further reading
“A Made Man in Our World”: Ronnie 2K Talks Jayson Tatum on NBA 2K25 Cover
Latest report casts a chill on Jeff Bezos’ idea of buying the Celtics
Top 5 games on Celtics’ 2024-25 schedule
Sam Hauser is grateful to have extended his contract with the team that gave him his first chance
Brad Stevens Shares Encouraging Update on Kristaps Porzingis’ Rehab
Jayson Tatum opens up about ‘tough and humbling’ Olympic experience
Here’s what you need to know about Jaylen Brown’s Boston XChange
Jayson Tatum Opens Up About His Relationship With Jaylen Brown
Celtics rookie Anton Watson shares Brad Stevens’ message
Celtics coaching staff changes theme of Boston offseason games
Al Horford, Raising Cane’s and a region that loves him
On Derrick White and the Essence of an Unprecedented Journey to Becoming the NBA’s Best Role Player
