Getty Michael Carter-Williams
The Boston Celtics will depend on Derrick White, Malcolm Brogdon, and Payton Pritchard to soak up the guard minutes for the 2023-24 season. However, with their two full-time roster spots left, Sports Illustrated’s Ben Stinar floated former Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams.
Stinar explained why the Celtics could use Carter-Williams in their second unit.
“The Celtics have Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Kristaps Porzingis, but they will need to have the right point guards facilitating their star forwards the basketball,” Stinar wrote. “Carter-Williams is a capable facilitator who could be an excellent addition to their bench.”
Stinar then explained what kind of contract Carter-Williams would get if the Celtics added him and why his hypothetical contract status wouldn’t hurt the Celtics if they brought him in.
“At 31, he is still in the prime of his career and would likely benefit from playing next to the elite players on the Celtics,” Stinar wrote. “Carter-Williams would likely be able to signed for a veteran’s minimum contract, so there would be no financial risk for the Celtics to bring him into training camp.”
Carter-Williams won the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2014 and played four games for the Orlando Magic during the 2022-23 season.
Dalano Banton Modeled His Game After Celtics Star
While the Celtics could add another playmaker to their squad, they may already think they have one just in case one of their guards gets injured with new addition Dalano Banton.
Though Banton is six-foot-eight, Banton reportedly tried to duplicate former Celtics star point guard Rajon Rondo’s abilities growing up, according to Taylor Snow of Celtics.com.
“From a young age, Banton modeled his game after former Celtic point guard Rajon Rondo. He stuck with the position, even after experiencing a massive growth spurt in high school, rising from 5-foot-9 as a freshman to 6-foot-6 by his junior year,” Snow wrote on August 23.
Banton isn’t likely to become the player Rondo was at the top of his game, but he has demonstrated his playmaking abilities in his first two NBA seasons with the Toronto Raptors.
Per Basketball-Reference, Banton played 46% of his minutes at point guard for the Toronto Raptors during the 2022-23 season while posting an assist percentage of 19.3%.
Celtics Insider Not a Fan of T.J. Warren
Though the Celtics brought Warren in for a workout, as reported by The Athletic’s Shams Charania on August 22, MassLive’s Brian Robb explained why he thinks the Celtics may want to steer clear of Warren on August 25.
“I’m hesitant to give some to Warren, given that a title contender in the Suns let him walk this offseason when they only had minimum contracts to spend. That’s a sign they think he’s likely done, so I question whether the Celtics need to add that unless he’s had a big health bounce back this year,” Robb wrote.
The 46 games Warren played during the 2022-23 season was the first time he saw legitimate NBA action since December 29, 2020, per ESPN.com. Warren may not be the same player he was during his time with the Indiana Pacers, but he’s only 29 years old.