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Celtics sign guard Dalano Banton

The Boston Celtics have signed guard Dalano Banton.

Banton, 6-9, 204 lbs., appeared in 31 games with the Toronto Raptors last season and averaged 4.6 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 9.0 minutes per game. In 64 games as a rookie, he averaged 3.2 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 10.9 minutes per game during the 2021-22 season. He also appeared in seven regular season games (all starts) with Raptors 905 where he averaged 24.1 points, 8.9 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 1.4 steals in 33.6 minutes.

In his sophomore season at Nebraska, he averaged 9.6 points, team highs of 5.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists, and 27.2 minutes in 27 games, becoming the first player since 1974 to lead the Huskers in both rebounding and assists. A native of Toronto, Banton was selected with the 46th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, becoming the first Canadian selected by the Raptors in the draft.

Celtics sign Jay Scrubb to two-way contract

The Boston Celtics have signed guard Jay Scrubb to a two-way contract.

Scrubb, 6-5/220, has appeared in 24 career NBA games (one start) with the Los Angeles Clippers (2020-22), and Orlando Magic (2022-23) and owns career averages of 4.0 points and 1.5 rebounds in 9.8 minutes per game.

The Louisville, Kentucky native appeared in two games for the Magic last season and averaged 6.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.0 steals in 15.0 minutes per game. He also appeared in 28 games (25 starts) with the Lakeland Magic of the NBA G League, where he finished sixth in the league in total points scored (625) and ranked eighth in scoring with 22.3 points per game and averaged 5.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 31.0 minutes.

Scrubb was selected with the 55th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft and became the first Junior College player selected in the NBA Draft since 2004. Scrubb earned First-Team NJCAA All-American honors in each of his two years at John A. Logan College and was named the 2019-20 National Junior College Athletic Association Player of the Year. He started in 55 of his 59 games played, and averaged 21.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.7 assists from 2018-20.

Three-team NBA trade sends Grant Williams to Mavericks, Reggie Bullock to Spurs

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have acquired forward Grant Williams from Boston and second-round picks in 2025 and 2028 from San Antonio as part of a three-team sign-and-trade deal. San Antonio will acquire Reggie Bullock and a 2030 first-round pick swap from Dallas while Boston will receive a 2030 second-round pick and a 2025 second-round pick swap from Dallas and a 2024 second-round pick from San Antonio.

Williams (6-6, 236) holds career averages of 6.2 points (.451 FG%, .379 3FG%, .773 FT%), 3.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 21.2 minutes in 288 games (58 starts) with Boston. He posted career bests for points (8.1 ppg), rebounds (4.6 rpg), assists (1.7 apg), minutes (25.9 mpg) and 3-pointers made (115) in a career-high 79 games (career-best 23 starts) in 2022-23.

“Grant will bring a level of versatility and tenacity to our organization,” said General Manager Nico Harrison. “He has been battle tested in high-level NBA Playoff games and is committed to team success. His willingness to compete in every single facet of the game will complement our group well.”

Williams has played in the NBA Playoffs in each of his first four seasons, advancing to three Eastern Conference Finals (2020, 2022, 2023) and one NBA Finals (2022). His 61 career postseason appearances rank third on the Mavericks current roster behind Kyrie Irving and JaVale McGee (both with 74).

Over his final two seasons with the Celtics, Williams averaged 8.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists while shooting 46.4% (421-908 FG) from the field, 40.3% (221-549 3FG) from 3-point range and 82.9% (180-217 FT) from the foul line.

Williams was selected by Boston with the 22nd overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft after a decorated college career at the University of Tennessee. He was named the SEC Player of the Year in each of his final two seasons with the Volunteers (2018, 2019), becoming the first player to do so since Corliss Williamson in 1995. As a junior in 2018-19, Williams posted career bests for points (18.8 ppg), rebounds (7.5 rpg), assists (3.2 apg), steals (1.1 spg), minutes (31.9 mpg), field goal percentage (.564) and free throw percentage (.819).

The Houston native is the son of Gilbert and Teresa Williams. His mother, Teresa, is an engineer for NASA and his father, Gilbert, is a jazz artist and former basketball player.

Williams will wear No. 3 for Dallas, while second-year guard Jaden Hardy will move to No. 1 this upcoming season.

Bullock (6-6, 205) appeared in 146 games (92 starts) for Dallas over the past two seasons and averaged 7.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 29.2 minutes while shooting 37.0% (292-789 3FG) from beyond the arc.

Celtics sign J.D. Davison to two-way contract

The Boston Celtics have signed guard J.D. Davison to a two-way contract.

Davison, 6-3/195, was originally selected by the Celtics with the 53rd overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. Davison appeared in 12 games during his rookie campaign and averaged 1.6 points and 0.9 assists in 5.5 minutes per game. He recorded season highs with eight points, three made field goals, three rebounds, three assists, and two blocks vs. Atlanta on April 9.

With the Maine Celtics, he appeared in 44 games and averaged 13.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 7.7 assists, and 0.8 steals while shooting 49.7 percent from the field this season. The Alabama native finished fourth in the NBA G League during the regular season with 339 assists, which also ranks third all-time in franchise history and is the second-most assists in a single season by a Maine player, behind Tim Frazier (2014-15). Davison helped lead Maine to its first Playoff appearance in six years.

Celtics sign Oshae Brissett

The Boston Celtics have signed forward Oshae Brissett to a contract.

Brissett, 6-7/210, has appeared in 172 career NBA games (43 starts) in four seasons with the Toronto Raptors (2019-20) and Indiana Pacers (2021-23). He owns career averages of 7.4 points and 4.2 rebounds in 19.2 minutes per game. Last season, he played in 65 games (two starts) with the Pacers and averaged 6.1 points and 3.4 rebounds in 16.7 minutes per game. He scored a season-high 18 points against Orlando on Nov. 21, including a season-high-tying four three pointers.

The Toronto, Ontario native has also made 42 appearances and 31 starts over two seasons in the NBA G League and earned All G League Second Team honors in 2020-21 with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants when he averaged 18.6 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. Brissett originally signed with Toronto as a free agent on July 23, 2019, and appeared in 19 games during his rookie campaign with the Raptors.

Three-team NBA trade sends Kristaps Porzingis to Celtics, Marcus Smart to Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, June 23 acquired guard Marcus Smart from the Boston Celtics in a three-team trade also including the Washington Wizards.

As part of the deal, the Grizzlies traded guard Tyus Jones to the Wizards and traded the draft rights to guard Marcus Sasser (25th overall) and a future first round draft pick to the Celtics.

Washington traded center Kristaps Porzingis to Boston for forward Danilo Gallinari, center Mike Muscala and the draft rights to forward Julian Phillips (35th overall).

A nine-year NBA veteran, Smart (6-3, 220) has competed in 581 regular season games (360 starts) and has averaged 10.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.6 steals in 30.0 minutes since he was selected by the Celtics with the sixth overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft out of Oklahoma State. The 29-year-old Texas native holds career playoff averages of 12.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.3 steals in 33.1 minutes in 108 games (73 starts), helping the Celtics make three trips to the conference finals and advance to the 2022 NBA Finals.

“Tyus, Danilo and Mike are talented players accustomed to winning,” said Wizards General Manager Will Dawkins. “They bring professionalism, high basketball intelligence, and a team-first mentality. We are delighted they are Wizards.”

Jones, an eight-year NBA guard, is coming off a career season with Memphis, where he set career highs in points (10.3), rebounds (2.5) and assists (5.2) per game in 80 games played (22 starts). On the season, Jones dished 417 assists, the second-most for Memphis, to just 74 turnovers, giving him the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the NBA last season at 5.63. He has appeared in 535 career games with Minnesota and Memphis and holds career averages of 6.8 points, 3.9 assists and 1.9 rebounds per game.

Gallinari was drafted sixth overall by the New York Knicks in 2008 and has also played with Denver, the L.A. Clippers, Oklahoma City and Atlanta in his 13-year NBA career. He signed with the Celtics during the 2022 offseason before suffering a season-ending left ACL injury while playing for the Italian national team in a FIBA World Cup qualifier in August. Gallinari last appeared during the 2021-22 season with the Atlanta Hawks, where he averaged 11.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game in 66 games. He holds career averages of 15.6 points and 4.8 rebounds over 728 games while shooting .382 from three-point range.

Muscala is a 10-year NBA veteran that has played for Atlanta, Philadelphia, the Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City and Boston. He holds career averages of 6.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game while shooting .457 from the field and .379 from three-point range. Muscala was traded from Oklahoma City to Boston at the 2023 trade deadline and played 20 games for the Celtics to close the season, shooting .472 from the field and .385 from beyond the arc in 16.2 minutes per game.

Porzingis, who was originally acquired by Washington at the 2022 trade deadline from the Dallas Mavericks, averaged 22.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.5 blocks per game in 82 total games with the Wizards.

“Kristaps is a true professional and an exceptionally talented player who established a lasting reputation during his time with the organization,” said Dawkins. “We thank him for his meaningful contributions and we wish him great success in Boston.”

On the Celtics and Kristaps Porzingis

Via Boston.com:

The Celtics are reportedly adding another top talent to their frontcourt next to Jayson Tatum.

According to ESPN and the Boston Globe, the Celtics are finalizing a deal and acquiring forward Kristaps Porzingis from the Washington Wizards in a three-team swap also featuring the Memphis Grizzlies.

As part of the reported deal, longtime Celtics guard Marcus Smart will be traded to Memphis, with the Grizzlies’ Tyus Jones and Boston’s Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala heading to Washington. Boston also nets two first-round picks with the move.

Porzingis is already an intriguing addition given his size (7-feet-3-inches) and unique skillset, but there are also some question marks surrounding Boston’s new trade pickup.

Three-team trade will reportedly send Kristaps Porzingis to Celtics, Marcus Smart to Grizzlies

Via ESPN.com:

The Washington Wizards are completing a three-way deal with the Boston Celtics and Memphis Grizzlies that will send Marcus Smart to the Grizzlies, Kristaps Porzingis to the Celtics and Tyus Jones to the Wizards, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The Grizzlies are sending the No. 25 pick on Thursday night and a 2024 first-round pick to the Celtics, sources told Wojnarowski.

The Celtics are sending the 35th pick on Thursday to the Wizards in the deal, sources told Wojnarowski.

Rumor: Clippers, Wizards and Celtics trade discussion

Via the LA Times:

The Clippers are deep in negotiations to make their first roster alterations ahead of the next NBA season.

By Wednesday afternoon, the team remained in discussions toward a three-team trade that, if completed, would send the expiring contract of forward Marcus Morris Sr., the former starter who had lost his rotation spot late last season, promising but little-used forward Amir Coffey and the 30th pick in Thursday’s NBA draft to Washington, and take back guard Malcolm Brogdon from Boston, according to a person briefed on the trade talks but not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Celtics forward Grant Williams undergoes hand surgery

Boston Celtics forward Grant Williams today underwent successful surgery to repair a tear of the radial collateral ligament of the 3rd metacarpo-phalangeal joint on his left hand.

The team says Williams should make a full return to basketball activities in 6-8 weeks.

Per Boston.com, “Williams is a restricted free agent, which means the Celtics can match an offer sheet that Williams could sign with another club. Williams posted career-highs in points (8.1) and minutes (25.9) during the 2022-23 regular season.”