The Boston Celtics are first in the Eastern Conference and in the season they are standing impressively at 28-7.
Out of their last four games, they have won three of them as they defeated the Toronto Raptors, San Antonio Spurs, and Utah Jazz.
They had lost against the Oklahoma City Thunder and had recently defeated the Indiana Pacers with the concluding score of 101-118. Their lineup is strong which is one of the reasons the Celtics squad is having a stellar season.
According to MassLive’s Brian Robb, the Celtics have guaranteed the contracts of Dalano Banton, Luke Kornet, Svi Mykhailiuk, and Lamar Stevens for the rest of the season.
Brad Stevens, Boston Celtics president of basketball operations had also alluded in last week’s press conference. He and Boston Celtics management indicated that the decision to retain the four players would be a go.
Stevens had shared via MassLive, “I’ve been really pleased with all those guys. I don’t want to say what we do or don’t do. I don’t ever want to speak in absolutes but I’ve been really impressed with all those guys. They’ve all come in and done well for us.”
According to Robb, “The fact their contracts are guaranteed now does not mean they will finish their seasons in Boston though a source tells MassLive. The Celtics could still elect to package several minimum salaries and another player(s) to make a deal for a player who would not fit into the $6.2 million Grant Williams trade exception. Stevens and Mykhailiuk’s salaries could be valuable tools on that front whereas waiving them this weekend would have made salary matching in that type of deal even tougher for Stevens.”
Robb further shares, “Ultimately, multiple league sources have indicated to MassLive that the Celtics are strongly expected to make some kind of move ahead of the trade deadline. Keeping the team’s roster fully intact now past the guarantee deadline keeps more potential opportunities open for getting a deal done to bolster the back end of the roster.”
