According to Shams Charania of ESPN, the Boston Celtics have signed Jordan Walsh to a new three-year, $15 million contract extension. Boston will pick up his $2.4 million team option and tack three extra years onto the deal.
However, an update from Michael Scotto of HoopsHype provided a bit more clarity on the contract's details. Scotto noted that the deal is actually worth roughly $16 million, the first two years are fully guaranteed, and the final year is a team option.
Walsh's new deal continues a summer of extensions for the Celtics. They have already locked up Ron Harper Jr. on a four-year deal worth around $13.7 million, and Neemias Queta inked a four-year, $56 million deal to remain in Boston.
BSJ Analysis
Had it not been for the Jaylen Brown trade, this would have been the summer of Brad Stevens. He's been an absolute mastermind negotiating these contracts. Queta is going to be making around $14 million a year, Walsh is at just over $5 million a year, and Harper will make just over $3.4 million a year. All of those numbers are phenomenal value for Boston.
Even the Brown trade has a chance to pan out well for the Celtics. Regardless, Stevens' work getting these three extensions done before the start of next season has been masterful. Only Payton Pritchard is left. That is, if he wanted to sign a deal up to three years, $67 million, before October 1. If Stevens could get that deal across the finish line, it would cement his extensions Master Class.
Outside of the numbers themselves, what does this Walsh extension mean for the Celtics? They still have a glut of wings and forwards that need developmental minutes. Walsh, Harper, Hugo Gonzalez, and Baylor Scheierman all deserve playing time next year. And that's without even factoring in Jayson Tatum, Paul George, and Sam Hauser minutes.
I know there's a huge public contingent that would like to see Joe Mazzulla cut Hauser's minutes entirely. That's not going to happen. Hauser has been one of the most consistent 3-point threats in the NBA for five years and holds his own on defense. Mazzulla is a big trust guy, and Hauser has it.
That said, with Brown now in Philadelphia, it seems inevitable that some of the young guns will earn more playing time. More opportunities. And in all likelihood, a longer leash to play with.
Walsh's extension proves that the Celtics still believe in him. At least, enough to hand him what is, in reality, an extension worth about a million more per year than the largest veteran's minimum contract.
At his best, Walsh is a defensive pest, capable of disrupting the best ball-handlers in the league. He's turned himself into a reliable catch-and-shoot threat from beyond the arc, and his offensive rebounding is impressive.
However, there are some clear areas of improvement for Walsh to work on. His processing speed needs to tick upward. Too often, he gets caught with the ball, stalling out on the perimeter. And that spaciness can drift its way to the defensive end at times, too. But at just 22 years old, those things could still be a work in progress.
Harper should be in line for more minutes, too. He earned some increased playing time toward the end of last season after spending most of the year on a two-way contract. Though he's not elite in any one area, Harper's a legitimate five-tool player.
He's a scrappy defender, an incredible rebounder for his position, an underrated ball-handler, a reliable 3-point shooter, and a solid shot-creator. Harper gives the Celtics a little bit of everything, and if he can fine-tune all of those skills, he has the makings of an every-night player.
The biggest thing standing in the way of more opportunities for Walsh and Harper is, ironically, Scheierman and Gonzalez. Right now, they just seem to be the frontrunners for the most minutes out of that four-man group. That's where my belief lies.
In Scheierman's case, it boils down to the offense. He's not nearly as athletic as Walsh, but he fights hard on defense and grew a ton on that end last season. He's a good point-of-attack defender, though he's limited by his athleticism when it comes to contesting at the rim. The rebounding is there for him, too.
The biggest separator is the offense. On that end of the ball, Scheierman is by far the most advanced out of Boston's young wings and forwards. He's more than a catch-and-shoot threat: He's a movement catch-and-shoot threat who can also take some attempts off the dribble. That versatility is very useful within the flow of the Celtics' offense.
He's also a good ball-handler and one of the most underappreciated passers on the Celtics. If he gets more reps as a creator next year, he could genuinely turn into one of the best passers on the team.
Depending on how many minutes Scheierman receives, I could see a world where he jumps to around 10-12 points per game on solid efficiency. He'll help with creation when Tatum is off the floor, too (and when George deals with injury issues).
Then, there's Gonzalez. For him, it's the potential. Mazzulla and the front office clearly already love him. And for what it's worth, people around the league seem to think very highly of him, too.
He's shown plenty of offensive flashes. Between his ball-handling in Summer League and during the FIBA World Cup qualifiers with Spain, you can see that side of him beginning to blossom. The 3-point shot looked much better as a rookie than most expected, too.
But the defense is where Gonzalez truly shines. At just 19 years old, Gonzalez earned a start in his third-ever NBA game. He was put in the lineup to check Cade Cunningham. Earning that trust that early speaks volumes.
Gonzalez is a monster at the point of attack, and his help defense at the rim is next level. He's clearly taking some pages out of Derrick White's book. Add in the rebounding on both ends of the court, and it's not hard to see why Boston fell in love with Gonzalez over the years (as they scouted him for a long, long time).
If I had to guess the minutes pecking order heading into next year, it would be Gonzalez first, followed by Scheierman, Walsh, then Harper. But it's close. And like last regular season, Mazzulla won't hesitate to ride the hot hand (or, the most impactful hand, that is).