Boston Celtics news roundup

A quick look at some of the bigger stories surrounding the Celtics right now.

We’re in the weird spot between the preseason and opening night. I was a little stumped in what to write today — shaking off the cobwebs — so, I thought I would share a couple of the bigger stories surrounding the team with my own personal take. Something a little different, but a fun exercise nonetheless.

Lonnie Walker IV is still in limbo.

Preseason is over. The Boston Celtics ended their warm-up games with a 4-1 record, dropping their final game against the Toronto Raptors. Their 2024-25 season-opening game is scheduled for Oct. 22, when they will face the New York Knicks.

On Thursday, the Celtics began making decisions on some Exhibit 10 guys. Zach Cox of The Boston Herald reported that Jay Scrubb, Ron Harper Jr., and Hason Ward had all been waived. Keith Smith of Spotrac reported that the Celtics also waived Dmytro Skapintsev on Wednesday.

Those decisions will likely lead the quartet to Maine, where they can continue their development and look to impress teams around the league. However, it does leave a lingering question mark over Lonnie Walker IV’s future with the franchise.

Walker has been the hot topic for Celtics fans this summer. Brad Stevens has focused on continuity rather than bringing in a slew of new faces. So, landing a proven scorer at the NBA level on an Exhibit 10 contract was enough to get jaws wagging about his potential fit within the rotation.

I’ve been vocal about my concerns regarding adding Walker. I like his ability to get his shot off, to pressure the rim, and to add another punch off the bench. I’m not a fan of his defense, nor do I think he ousts anyone in the top 8 or 9 of the rotation. As such, I’m unsure what value he brings when factoring in the $11 million cap hit Boston would be forced to eat due to luxury tax penalties.

I looked at Boston’s three options for Walker earlier this week.

Celtics' 3 options with Lonnie Walker IV

As the last man standing from Boston’s Exhibit 10 group, Walker still can earn the final roster spot. However, his limited success during the preseason — save for one game where he dropped 20 points — may emerge as a factor in the decision-making process.

In total, Walker played 65.5 minutes of preseason basketball for Boston. He scored 29 points on 12-of-28 shooting from the field and 5-of-16 from 3-point range. He grabbed six boards, dished out ten assists and secured two steals. However, in that one game against Toronto on Sunday, Walker scored 20 of those 29 points.

In other words, he only scored 9 points throughout the rest of the preseason. He struggled to get on the court during Boston’s opening two games against the Denver Nuggets. I’m unsure how much value he can add when projecting him to fill a role that will potentially see him earn under 700 total minutes in the upcoming season.

We won’t have long to wait until we find out whether Walker will be on the roster for the upcoming season, as according to Keith Smith, Boston will begin incurring a cap/tax hit for Walker from Saturday.

Addition by subtraction in the Celtics ownership search

Yesterday, it was reported that the Fenway Sports Group had turned its focus away from a potential bid to purchase the Boston Celtics. Instead, they will focus on attempting to buy a Las Vegas-based franchise once the NBA expands. I would assume that the decision was partly driven by LeBron James, who was no stranger to discussing a potential ownership stake in a Vegas-based team.

Interestingly, the report came from my side of the pond. The Liverpool Echo — a local newspaper in the same city as the soccer (I mean football) club that FSG owns — were the ones to publish the report.

“But during the summer the Boston Celtics NBA team, the current NBA champions no less, were put up for sale by Wyc Grousbeck, and given FSG’s strong ties to the city, with its base being in Boston, there was much rumour and conjecture around a potential bid by the Reds’ owners for the Celtics, with the New York Post claiming that there was significant interest,” Dave Powell of the Liverpool Echo reported.

“However, that interest had been dismissed by people the ECHO spoke to on the matter, with Celtics shareholder and current owner of Italian Serie A side Atalanta, Stephen Pagliuca, being tipped as the person to make a play for control. Sam Kennedy, president of the Boston Red Sox and CEO of FSG, was quizzed on the potential interest in acquiring the Celtics when speaking to MassLive, saying: “I don’t see it to be appropriate to talk about the Celtics today other than to say congrats on another world championship.”

Everyone, do this with me…One…Two…Three…Let out a sigh of relief.