A collection of news and notes from the last two days during which the Celtics made a number of moves official and continue to try to put on the finishing touches on the 15-man roster:
Tacko Fall contract situation is uncertain
The Celtics reportedly signed the 7-foot-7 center to an Exhibit 10 deal last month, which would have guaranteed his presence in training camp. However, Danny Ainge revealed some uncertainty about his situation during his interview with Toucher and Rich on Thursday:
“We’re trying to still get a contract done with Tacko. We haven’t signed him yet,” Ainge said. “I really can’t say much more about Tacko than we’re just trying to get him in the fold.”
It's possible that Fall never signed an Exhibit 10 deal before the summer league began and could be looking at more opportunities now from other teams in the league that have a direct path to a 15th roster spot. The Celtics have four centers already under contract heading into camp with 14 guaranteed contracts accounted for. Whether this is just a negotiating tactic by Fall's camp to get some more guaranteed money as part of his deal with Boston or something more than that, we should find out in the coming days. For now, it remains clear that Ainge and his staff remain very high on the 23-year-old.
“Tacko is fun to watch,” Ainge said. “He makes me laugh. Some of the plays he makes are hilarious because you just don’t see them. Guards get in a bind, and they just throw the ball up in the air, then Tacko grabs them and makes tip-toe dunks from under the basket. It’s just like a senior in high school playing against fourth-graders sometimes out there.
“He’s a great kid. He’s working really hard. We want to take his development very, very seriously. He’s a high priority for us to try to really develop into a player.”
Fall will be competing with Javonte Green, Tremont Waters and Max Strus for the 15th roster spot in Celtics camp once his deal gets finalized.
Daniel Theis only has one guaranteed year in new contract
The German big man got a bigger contract than expected in free agency after agreeing to a two-year, $10-million deal with Boston last week. Now, we have a better idea of why. Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports was first to report that the second year of Theis' contract is not guaranteed until July 3rd, 2020 for its full amount of $5 million. This gives the Celtics' front office some useful flexibility when it comes to trading contracts midseason or next June. The deal is simply an expiring contract this season, which should make it easy movable salary for the front office when Theis is eligible to be dealt on December 15th). There is no guarantee the C's will make a deal at that point but given how crowded the frontcourt looks, some consolidation could be in order at that point.
If Theis makes it through the year in Boston, he could also be used in a trade next June around draft time. The fact that his next team will be able to cut him before free agency begins makes it a good mid-level deal to help build together some salary in case the team is pursuing a bigger deal at that point in time.
The possibility also remains that Theis will be an integral part of the Celtics roster this year as a stretch center that has some good familiarity with the system. Some better health and improved mobility will go a long way on that front. However, it's evident that his contract with Boston was partially due to having a structure that will be helpful for future trades. That's been an issue for this team in past years and he should help on that front.
Leftover presser nuggets
Some fun tidbits leftover from Wednesday's pressers
- Starting with Walker explaining his choice of No. 8: "It was hard. There’s no numbers available," Walker said. "Every number is retired. But the reason I took eight was because my birthday is May 8th, and eight was available (not retired), so I just went with it. But it’s cool to wear Antoine Walker’s number. I spoke to him and he gave me the blessing as well, so I’m excited."
- Enes Kanter talked about his passport situation as well. He had his suspended by Turkey in a couple of years back and declined to travel to Toronto and London last year due to concerns over his safety. "When I was in Portland, one of the conversations was if we made the NBA Finals if I could travel to Toronto or not. In Portland, US Senator Mr. Ron Wyden sent a letter to the Canadian government and they said, ‘We don’t see an issue to come into our country.’ So I’m actually going to meet with Senator Markey next week and I’m going to talk to him about some of the issues. I don’t think it will be a problem, but we’ll see."
- The Celtics also made the signings of Vincent Poirier and Brad Wanamaker official earlier this week. Ainge spoke briefly on the new French big man on Wednesday: "Vincent is a -- he’s just a 7-foot-1, 9-4 ½ standing reach, active, athletic player. So he’s just another big body for us, with some things that we need to fine-tune. In our frontcourt, I think that he’s going to have a chance."
