Report: Waters follows Fall in signing 2nd 2-way deal with Boston Celtics

Waters followed Fall in sticking to the rivers and lakes they are used to, it seems.

Boston Celtics two way guard Tremont Waters inked a second two way deal with the team that drafted him with the 51st pick of the 2019 NBA draft out of Louisiana State University.

The New Haven, Connecticut native had a breakout year for the Celtics at the G League level, with Waters spending the bulk of the 2019-20 season with the (Portland) Maine Red Claws, Boston’s G League affiliate.

There, he would win G League Rookie of the Year honors while making a serious run at league Most Valuable Player, getting the attention of front offices around the NBA in the process.

Now he returns to a much more lucrative two way pay structure that will see him earn close to half of a rookie contract’s value with a real shot at playing time with Boston as the team’s fourth ballhandler behind Kemba Walker and new arrivals Jeff Teague and Payton Pritchard.

Now allowed to appear in as many as 50 games per NBA season, we may well see some considerable floor time for the former Tiger in the season to come.

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Report: center Tacko Fall signs 2-way contract with Boston Celtics

Tacko Fall will be a Boston Celtics for the 2020-21 NBA season.

It might not have been the biggest signing of the Boston Celtics’ 2020-21 NBA offseason, but it was without a doubt their tallest — per The Athletic’s Shams Charania, two way center Tacko Fall has signed another two way contract with the team.

The former University of Central Florida Knight big man made big improvements to his game in his rookie season, going from a 7-foot-5 body with basketball potential to a playable end of bench NBAer in an admittedly long inaugural campaign.

And with the compensation levels boosted to roughly half what a minimum deal in the NBA would pay and a straight 50-game maximum limit on games played with the parent club, the appeal of a two way deal improving likely played a role in Fall’s decision.

Fall appeared in just seven games at the NBA level last season where he averaged 3.3 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.6 blocks over 4.7 minutes of playing time, but will likely see considerably more action next season as the team’s fourth center.

We’re pretty sure fans are already shouting their approval from home, even if it could be some time before they can demand he check in at a game.

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Lowe: Celtics, Pacers offered Hayward $100m+ deals; not into Turner

Boston evidently extended the Butler product a substantial offer, but were never crazy about trading for Myles Turner.

The Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers were reportedly offering veteran forward Gordon Hayward contracts above $100 million, according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe on a recent episode of the podcast “The Lowe Post”.

Before Michael Jordan and the Charlotte Hornets swooped in with a $120 million contract over four years, the ESPN analyst shared that both the Pacers and Celtics had fairly hefty offers in place with the Butler product.

He also shared that a Boston — Indiana sign-and-trade may have been held up by the team’s unwillingness to take on center Myles Turner’s contract.

“I just don’t think they really wanted Myles Turner,” explained Lowe on the pod, whose $18 million deal did not get very solid reviews when the Celtics made calls around the NBA to gauge the Texas product’s trade value at that rate.

“They weren’t offering $120 million,” offered the ESPN insider. “But my best intel is something like $105 million, $108 million, $102 million, $110 million.”

Even that considerably smaller deal would have likely raised eyebrows among Boston fans had it been successful, so perhaps it is for the best — at least for the Celtics — that things played out as they did.

Assuming the team is able to extract a traded-player exception from the Hornets, dealing Hayward away for a different kind of “nothing” may well be better for the team (and its tax bill) long-term, as painful as it was at the moment.

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Ex-Celtic Aron Baynes signs 2-year, $14.3 million deal with Raptors

Former Boston big man Aron Baynes is joining Toronto for the next two seasons.

Former Boston Celtic big man Aron Baynes is heading back to the Eastern Conference, but Celtics fans may be saddened to learn that it will be to join their Atlantic Division Rival Toronto Raptors, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

The fan favorite center signed a two-year, $14.3 million deal with the Raptors, who will play the coming season in Tampa, Florida due to COVID-19 concerns in the Canadian government.

Baynes averaged a career-high 11.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game with his former team, the Phoenix Suns, last season while connecting on an also- career-high 35.1% of his shots from beyond the arc.

After the departure of Raptors big men Marc Gasol to the Los Angeles Lakers and Serge Ibaka to the Los Angeles Clippers, a spot with Toronto made plenty of sense for both sides.

Boston fans will have to get used to seeing All of Australia suiting up for Canada — though for at least one of those seasons, he’ll be doing it in Florida, just to make for some confusing geography.

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Woj: Jayson Tatum agrees to 5-year, $195 million extension with Celtics

Jayson Tatum will be a Boston Celtic until at least 2024-25.

Boston Celtics All-NBA small forward Jayson Tatum has agreed to sign a five-year, $195 million extension with the team that drafted him third overall in the 2017 NBA draft with a player option on the fifth year, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The Duke product’s anticipated extension offer was the team’s most important offseason order of business to attend to, even if the timetable of working through veteran forward Gordon Hayward’s next contract required much of the front office’s early attention in the 2020-21 free agency period.

Tatum began the season with three goals — to make an All-Star team, average more than 20 points per game, and make the NBA Finals — and came within two wins of accomplishing all three.

Though he fell short of the Finals at the hands of the Miami Heat, the Missouri native did indeed get his first All-Star nod, and jumped from scoring 15.7 points, 6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game to 23.4 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.4 assists per game.

With Hayward gone to the Charlotte Hornets, those numbers are very likely to keep rising.

And with the 2020-21 roster coming together with the additions of big man Tristan Thompson and point guard Jeff Teague, the Celtics can turn their attention to completing the rest of the necessary moves around the margins to finish it.

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Woj: Jayson Tatum agrees to 5-year, $195 million extension with Celtics

Jayson Tatum will be a Boston Celtic until at least 2024-25.

Boston Celtics All-NBA small forward Jayson Tatum has agreed to sign a five-year, $195 million extension with the team that drafted him third overall in the 2017 NBA draft with a player option on the fifth year, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The Duke product’s anticipated extension offer was the team’s most important offseason order of business to attend to, even if the timetable of working through veteran forward Gordon Hayward’s next contract required much of the front office’s early attention in the 2020-21 free agency period.

Tatum began the season with three goals — to make an All-Star team, average more than 20 points per game, and make the NBA Finals — and came within two wins of accomplishing all three.

Though he fell short of the Finals at the hands of the Miami Heat, the Missouri native did indeed get his first All-Star nod, and jumped from scoring 15.7 points, 6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game to 23.4 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.4 assists per game.

With Hayward gone to the Charlotte Hornets, those numbers are very likely to keep rising.

And with the 2020-21 roster coming together with the additions of big man Tristan Thompson and point guard Jeff Teague, the Celtics can turn their attention to completing the rest of the necessary moves around the margins to finish it.

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Former Celtic Brad Wanamaker pens a farewell note for fans on Twitter

Fare thee well, Brad Wanamaker — you will be missed.

Former Boston Celtics reserve point guard Brad Wanamaker thanked Celtics fans on Twitter after signing a one-year, $2.25 million deal to join the Golden State Warriors on Saturday afternoon.

The two-year NBA veteran came over from Europe to join Boston at the start of the 2018-19 season, and averaged 5.9 points, 1.7 rebounds and 2.2 points per game as a Celtic, leading the league in free throw percentage rate this last season.

In his Twitter farewell message, the Pitt product opened up about his time wearing green and white, where he played a larger role than intended over the last two seasons with professionalism.

“Appreciate you Boston!” began the Philadelphia native.

“Signed my first and second lol NBA contracts with a great organization. Loved hooping with all my teammates and coaches I came across my two season there, wish you guys all the best going forward and I’ll always be grateful for my time there.”

Wanamaker might never have been the flashiest player on the team, the best shot or highest scorer.

But, he was a rock when it came to doing his job for a team that has had a roller coaster ride of a lifetime while he was on its roster.

You will be missed, Brad Wanamaker — fare thee well.

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Boston Celtics center Daniel Theis’ contract guaranteed as expected

There was never much chance of the Celtics going another direction given Theis’ value to the team and low-cost deal.

The Boston Celtics have guaranteed the $5 million in salary remaining on the final season of veteran big man Daniel Theis’ current deal, reports the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach.

A move that ought to surprise no one, the German center has been a key part of the Celtics’ rotation, and barring a highly unusual opportunity arising, was virtually guaranteed to have had that salary honored by Boston.

At $5 million, Theis’ salary pays for one of the best sealers in the league, and above-average rim protection with the mobility needed to defend the perimeter — in short, a modern NBA big man sans the reliable shooting.

Theis has had a somewhat reliable shot in the past, having hit 38.8% from beyond the arc in 2018-19, and wasn’t that far off from league average last season at 33.3%.

That will be an area of emphasis in the coming season, as the Salzgitter native competes with new arrival Tristan Thompson for the starting role each night.

Presumably matchups will also play a role most nights, but the Celtics were always unlikely to move on from such a good contract and player despite having the ability.

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Celtics, Hornets trying to assemble sign-and-trade for Hayward: report

Maybe free agency isn’t going as poorly as some initially thought.

The Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach reports that the Boston Celtics and Charlotte Hornets are trying to work out a sign-and-trade that would allow the Hornets to avoid having to waive a player to sign Gordon Hayward in free agency that would also send something back to Boston.

As originally structured, the Hornets were going to waive and stretch veteran wing Nic Batum in order to make room for Hayward’s new deal, which — at $120 million over four years added to Batum’s stretch cost of roughly $9 million per year would result in an effective cost of $39 million a year.

Some time to absorb the gravity of what that could mean for the team’s future cap flexibility should the Indiana native continue to have poor injury luck (and, arguably, even if he didn’t) may have been enough to get Michael Jordan back at the negotiating table.

And it could be a sea change for Boston’s fortunes if it works out.

With Yahoo’s Keith Smith reporting that the Celtics could receive a player worth up to $20 million a season in salary is already generating hope for a Terry Rozier reunion — or perhaps even finding a way to pry wing Bogdan Bogdanovic away from the Sacramento Kings.

Check back soon for more details on this developing story.

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Report: Celtics to sign free agent point guard Jeff Teague to 1-year deal

The former Atlanta Hawk will back up Kemba Walker this season.

The Boston Celtics will reportedly sign free agent veteran point guard Jeff Teague to a one-year deal, according to the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach.

While terms of the deal remain unknown at this time, Yahoo Sports’ Keith Smith believes it will be for the veteran’s minimum of $2.5 million Teague would be entitled to as an 11-year veteran.

The 6-foot-3, 32-year old floor general last played for the Atlanta Hawks, for whom he scored an average of 7.7 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 4 assists per game.

A career 35.6% shot from beyond the arc, the veteran point guard will likely share backup duties with freshly-drafted rookie Payton Pritchard, and Teague’s veteran experience ought to serve a team that had trouble advancing in the postseason well.

Voice of the Celtics Sean Grande (the team’s play-by-play announcer) related on Twitter that head coach Brad Stevens has been trying to get Teague ono a team he’s the head of since he was a high school student at Pike High in Indianapolis, Indiana.

After a rocky start to free agency, the Celtics appear to have a solid team coming together, with rumbles of perhaps even more on the horizon.

Check back soon for more details on this developing story.

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