Boston Celtics cut Dalano Banton and duck under tax

Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens prefers to head into the regular season with an open roster spot. He maintained that modus operandi on Thursday afternoon when it was officially announced that the Celtics had waived forward Dalano Banton.

While the Celtics dealing star guard Jaylen Brown to the rival Philadelphia 76ers was a shock, this lesser offseason maneuver was not. Boston had a full roster and wanted to get down to 14 players and, by doing so, it ducked under the tax line with $1.7 million to spare. Banton came to the C's last season to round out their roster and was already familiar with the team from his short stint in Beantown during the first half of the 2023-24 campaign. And while getting cut is often a rough day for an NBA player, the 26-year-old will now have the chance to join another team in time for Las Vegas Summer League play.