Boston Celtics Upgrade Breakout Player To Remake Bench, Complete Tax-Saving Plan

The Boston Celtics path to remaking the end of their bench and getting under the tax line without touching any of their regular rotation players (and actually giving one of them a promotion) is now complete, and with room to spare. 

As you probably remember, the Celtics traded away Xavier Tillman, Josh Minott, and Chris Boucher at the trade deadline without getting a player in return. The Celtics then played a shell game with those three spots at the end of their bench, threading a needle many thought was impossible when the season started. 

After a series of 10-day contracts, Charles Bassey among them, the Celtics upgraded two rookie contracts to fill two of those roster posts. 

Max Shulga, drafted 57th overall and initially signed to a two-way contract, was upgraded to partially non-guaranteed standard contract. Amari Williams, drafted 46th overall, was also signed to a similar, partially non-guaranteed standard contract. 

Charles Bassey then signed two 10-day contracts, the second of which expired today, leaving Boston under the mandatory 14-man roster limit. To fill that, the Celtics made the highly-anticipated move of upgrading Ron Harper Jr.’s deal. It’s a two-year deal that will be similarly structured. 

Harper has had a breakout season with the Celtics. He’s only averaging 3.4 points per game this season, but he’s had several standout games. He scored 22 points against the San Antonio Spurs, helping make up for Jaylen Brown’s ejection and giving Boston a chance to win. He also had a tremendous performance against the OKC Thunder, where he was a +15 in a two-point loss. 

So this is a fitting reward for a player who has earned his spot.

“Ron has worked,” Joe Mazzulla recently said about Harper Jr. “The way he plays in games against San Antonio and OKC is the way he plays in a state-ready game, it’s the way he plays in a G League games, it’s the way he plays in practice. So he cares about winning, he cares about competing. And he executes the details very well in all settings. And so his ability to think the game and compete is top notch. He's getting better and better.”

The upgraded contract means Harper Jr. is now eligible to play in the playoffs, which two-way players are not. 

The moves have now put Boston about $38,000 under the tax, a miniscule number that is the NBA equivalent of counting out pennies at the cash register (and maybe using the take a penny, leave a penny tray). They still have an open roster spot, and the the $38,000 is enough for them to sign someone on the last day of the season and also carry him into the playoffs in case of an emergency. So it’s possible there's another move yet to come.