How a revamped deal for Max Strus opened the door for Tacko Fall's roster spot

The Celtics don’t have to settle on a final 15-man roster until next week, but began the process with some tweaking on Sunday by agreeing to a new partially guaranteed rookie deal with Max Strus as first reported by Shams Charania of Stadium.

From afar, this seems to be a puzzling move for Boston since Strus was already under contract with Boston for far less money under a two-way contract slot, which was signed this past summer. Why exactly would the C’s give the rookie swingman such a big raise during what has largely been a relatively pedestrian preseason?

It all starts with their commitment to Strus this summer, which came almost immediately after the draft. The Celtics clearly want to do right by the player here first and foremost and they took care of Strus here when they didn’t have to from a financial standpoint. A two-way player can earn roughly $80,000 in a base salary but also has the ability to earn up to $400,000 in prorated rookie NBA salary if they spend the maximum 45 days with the main roster. The Celtics elected to give Strus that cash now upfront, likely as a goodwill gesture while opening up some roster flexibility for themselves with a two-way spot.

By giving Strus the money now, it leaves him solely in the running now for the final open roster spot, a two-horse race essentially between him and Javonte Green. Based on their play so far, Green seems like the favorite for this spot so far in camp, but there is still another week for Strus to make his case. Whoever doesn’t make the team out of Green or Strus will likely be headed overseas for a lucrative deal if they don’t catch on with another NBA team.

The bigger deal now from the C’s roster perspective is that Strus is no longer eligible to play for the Red Claws or play on a two-way deal for Boston. That opens up a spot for Tacko Fall on a two-way contract, which was the only realistic way that the big man was going to make the C’s roster out of camp. It’s a win-win for Boston from both a development and marketing perspective. They can reap the benefits of the high fan interest in Fall while also getting him ample time to develop in the G-League with the Red Claws.

Under a two-way deal, Fall will be eligible to play 45 days with the Celtics on the year, opening the door for him to be called up for selective matchups if injuries hit or for a change of pace against true bigs in the East. Brad Stevens won’t have to deal with chants every night either since Fall will only be allowed to play limited games with the big club.

Here’s a closer look at the C’s depth chart now heading into next season.

Guaranteed contracts (15):


Ballhandlers: Walker, Smart, Edwards, Wanamaker,


Wings: Hayward, Tatum, Brown, Langford, Strus/Green (competing for final spot)


Undersized bigs: Grant Williams, Ojeleye


Centers: Kanter, Theis, Poirier, Rob Williams

Two-way contracts (2): Tremont Waters, Tacko Fall