What will Celtics do with final open roster spot?

The Celtics took care of the inevitable on Saturday, electing to waive small forward Abdel Nader before his contract became fully guaranteed on August 1st. The move saves Boston just over $900,000 on the salary cap since Nader’s contract for 2018-19 was only guaranteed for $450,000. It was painfully evident during parts of last season that the Celtics could do better with that roster spot, and now Danny Ainge will get a chance to round out the team with a more appealing piece.

While the Celtics seem certain to fill that roster spot at some point over the upcoming months, the interesting question that Ainge and his staff will have to debate now is whether or not to fill the hole before training camp with another guaranteed contract. What options do the Celtics have to choose from on that front? Let’s take a closer look at the factors they will be weighing.

A full depth chart leaves few needs

There are no glaring positions of weakness on the roster right now after Marcus Smart re-signed last week. The backcourt is one of the deepest in the league, the center spot can play big or small without problems and there is improved versatility at the wing position thanks to the return of Gordon Hayward to the fold.

The luxury tax makes any more signings more expensive than usual

Since the Celtics are still roughly $3 million over the luxury tax line even after cutting Nader loose, it’s important to keep in mind the cost implications of any free-agent addition moving forward. For any player added on a minimum deal, the Celtics will pay $1.50 for each dollar spent in added luxury tax penalties, assuming they finish the season over the tax (a likely scenario). If the Celtics add someone with the taxpayer midlevel exception (up to $5.4 million) that will push them into a higher penalty rate ($1.75 per dollar spent) if they go $5 million over the luxury tax threshold.

Will anyone come after Jabari Bird?

The Celtics remain in the driver’s seat with the restricted free agent wing, but they could be put to the test if another team offers up a contract above the minimum. At that point, the Celtics will have to choose whether to match that deal or let the Cal product walk after a promising performance during summer league.

The options

Keep the roster spot open: This has to be considered the healthy favorite at this point, primarily due to the circumstances I wrote about above. There are few free agents left on the open market that would even push for minutes in Boston’s rotation when everyone is healthy, so why would the Celtics bring them in now?

Keeping the spot open helps on a number of fronts. It lowers the luxury tax bill, and it allows for uneven trade possibilities in case the front office wants to pursue something during the rest of the summer or over the course of the season.

Maintaining the taxpayer mid-level exception now for usage on the buyout market later in the season could come in handy as well. The Celtics should be one of the more appealing teams to play for as far as contenders go, especially since the Warriors already used their full MLE on DeMarcus Cousins. Most of the talent left on the unrestricted free agent market isn’t worthy of more than the veterans’ minimum anyway.

The case for adding a player for depth purposes is always there and can become essential in a hurry if multiple injuries pile up. However, that’s an issue that can be addressed when injuries hit midseason. Having a roster spot open to start the year is actually helpful on that front.

Sign Bird to a minimum deal or two-way deal? This seems like an obvious choice, but I still believe the Celtics are holding out hope that they can just re-sign him to a two-way contract, at least for the start of the year. While there’s no question that Bird will get invitations to other training camps, it is far from a sure thing that he will see a guaranteed contract offer sheet from another squad in this free agent market. There is a lot of talent still left out there and not a ton of roster spots up for grabs. The ideal solution for the Celtics would be to bring back Bird on a two-way deal, with the possibility that they sign him to an NBA contract as the season progresses (as needed). Whether or not that ends up being a legitimate possibility is dependent on how aggressively other teams come after Bird. If no one offers Bird a guaranteed deal, he will likely be back in Boston for another two-way pact. Perhaps a strong training camp would convince the Celtics to add him to the roster right away, but it’s tough to envision him getting any rotation minutes with the amount of healthy talent ahead of him.

Sign a veteran free agent: Option C is the least likely choice right now. Here’s a look at some of the unrestricted bigger names left at each position:

Guard: Nick Young, Jamal Crawford, Devin Harris, Arron Afflalo, Dwyane Wade
Forward: David West, Noah Vonleh, Tarik Black, Luke Babbitt
Center: Jahlil Okafor, Greg Monroe, Lucas Nogueira

There are no names on that list that will be top-11 players on the current Celtics' roster. Taking a flier on a guy like Vonleh may have been appealing for the league minimum if the team didn’t draft Robert Williams, but that depth chart spot is filled. Most of these guys will get jobs somewhere, but there won’t be any opportunity for them in Boston.

That could change this summer if some sort of trade is made to clear out the roster glut, but all indications, for now, point to the Celtics at least starting next season with this core intact. If that remains the plan, starting the year with 14 players seems like the logical choice.