The Boston Celtics finalized their roster on Saturday with a slew of expected moves. They waived Milos Uzan, Hayden Gray, Gabe McGlothan, and Tucker DeVries, all of whom are expected to join the Maine Celtics in the G League.
They also signed Devin Carter to a two-way deal, which is among the most high-upside, no-risk moves a team could make.
The Celtics picked Carter up after the Sacramento Kings traded him to Atlanta in a salary dump, and the Hawks cut him because of a roster crunch. Because Carter, the 13th overall pick in the 2024 draft, was on a guaranteed rookie contract, he’s still getting paid more than $5 million this season.
That means this is an essentially free shot at Carter’s redemption for the Celtics. Because the Hawks are on the hook for his salary, signing a two-way deal with Boston is essentially no different than signing a guaranteed contract. The Celtics will only have to pay just under $700,000 for his services, which simply reduces what the Hawks owe him by that much. Carter gets the same amount no matter what.
So it’s a no-risk deal.
Carter can play up to 50 games on the two-way contract, so the Celtics can take a close, free, look at Carter over those 50 games to figure out if there's a way to use him. If he’s not good, they can just let him go and it would be as if he didn’t exist financially.
But if he is good, the Celtics can play him the entire 50 games on the two way deal while Atlanta pays his salary. He never has to set foot in Maine. The Hawks will pay him the money, and if he plays well enough, Boston can convert him to a regular deal down the line.
The Celtics are $1.7 million below the luxury tax line, which is a line they very likely won’t cross. Since two-way salary doesn’t impact that, Carter can play as much or as little as the Celtics want without worry for 50 games. If he ends up being worth keeping, they can sign him to a guaranteed deal later after the 50 games are up. Once his prorated veteran minimum is below $1.7 million, Boston can sign him for the rest of the season and make him eligible for the playoffs.
After that, they can use one of their exceptions to sign him to a longer-term deal if they want next season.
Carter is a former lottery pick with obvious NBA-level skills. If it works out, he could be a big contributor to an already deep Celtics team.
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