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With the Celtics guaranteeing Jordan Walsh’s contract during the week, they have one more committed spot and perhaps another roster decision to make when it comes to second-round pick Dillon Mitchell, a longtime friend of Walsh. Mitchell could agree to a four-year contract, similar to the one Walsh signed as a rookie in 2023, that would be for two guaranteed years to secure his future. A two-way contract is also an option, but former two-way player John Tonje made a serious push to earn another opportunity with a solid Las Vegas Summer League. Amari Williams signed a two-way contract, and there are two slots remaining
Shams Charania: Boston Celtics forward Jordan Walsh has agreed to a three-year, $15 million contract extension with the franchise through the 2029-30 season, sources tell ESPN. Boston picked up Walsh's $2.4M option on next season and adds three more years for their 2023 second-rounder.
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As Derrick White and Jordan Walsh went through a workout on one of the Cox Pavilion courts Saturday morning, head coach Joe Mazzulla detailed the respect he has for Brown, what Boston will miss most about him and the need to create a new path forward without him. After 10 highly successful seasons with Brown, Boston will take on a different look with Paul George, Mitchell Robinson and Mike Conley now on the roster. “There needs to be a grieving process for losing not just a player in Jaylen, but a person in Jaylen,” Mazzulla said in an interview with The Athletic. “There needs to be a grieving process that this guy, what he has done on the court and what he’s done in the community and what he’s done for the city of Boston, there should be a grieving process. But the … gray area is throughout that loss, you’re also gaining.”
This summer, Mazzulla has taken that commitment to another level; it’s mid-July, and he has already spent time with four different players in four different parts of the world: Jordan Walsh in Texas, Baylor Scheierman in Nebraska, Hugo Gonzalez in Spain, and Neemias Queta in Portugal.
Walsh said he learned things about Mazzulla he never knew, and that the rare quality time was valuable. “Jordan and I had a great conversation, just kind of understanding how he grew up,” Mazzulla said. “But really, it’s not even about learning about that. I think guys are more comfortable in their home atmosphere. So, even the types of conversations that you’re having are more comfortable, and it might spark different questions, different conversations if you’re on their home territory. We had deeper conversations because we were in a more vulnerable situation.”
Walsh was (positively) caught off guard when Mazzulla first initiated the visit. “I was definitely surprised,” Walsh recalled with a smile. “Like, what the hell does Joe want? But it was cool. It was so cool that he was making that kind of effort to come see me.” Walsh joked he kept Mazzulla out of the trouble: “I kept him in the good part of the city, where it’s good food, good people. He didn’t get to experience the other side. Maybe one day.”
In early July, Mazzulla was on the other side of the world, supporting Hugo Gonzalez in the World Cup qualifying tournament in Madrid, Spain. “We went out to dinner a couple times,” Gonzalez said. “He went to every practice — so really, really grateful that he was willing to be there.” Knowing that Mazzulla is a big soccer fan, Gonzalez took him to the Bernabéu, the second-largest football arena in the country, as well as other notable venues. “I try to show him where I’ve been eight or nine years of my life,” Gonzalez said. “The ones who built me as a player, and he wanted to know it, so I just showed him Valdebebas, [which] is like the Auerbach Center of Real Madrid.”
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At the beginning of June, Mazzulla flew to Lisbon to work out with Neemias Queta in the gym where he first learned how to play the game he now excels at. That came just a few weeks before Queta signed a long-term extension with the franchise. Mazzulla rebounded for Queta at the Futebol Clube Barreirense, the first club in which Queta ever played basketball. “It’s just surreal,” Queta said. “A couple years ago, if you had said an NBA coach is coming to that specific gym just to see me and get to know me, I would have been like, ‘You gotta be kidding me.’ Joe makes sure — he wants to make that extra step, extra effort, just to make sure you feel comfortable. And I think that’s one of the reasons why he’s such a good coach. He worries about people, and that’s why I’m running through a wall for him.”
Adam Himmelsbach: According to a league source, the Celtics are exercising the team options of Neemias Queta, Jordan Walsh and Dalano Banton. Banton remains on a non-guaranteed deal. Per source, the Celtics are declining options of Amari Williams & Max Shulga, but they could still have opps w/Cs.
Especially given the timing, the Celtics’ decision could bother Jaylen Brown. Since the last time he went through such trade rumors, he won the 2024 championship and the NBA Finals MVP award. Last season was his best — and not just because he set career highs with 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game with the injured Jayson Tatum on the sideline. Teammates believed Brown’s leadership enabled them to exceed expectations. Other All-Stars might have expressed frustration about losing much of a championship core in a single offseason. Brown simply buckled up for a different type of ride. Throughout the offseason, head coach Joe Mazzulla said Brown set the tone for the organization. Teammates noticed his intensity and focus during summer workouts. During 1-on-1 games, Brown’s seriousness opened teammate Jordan Walsh’s eyes. Walsh believed Brown wanted to “set the precedent early.”
StatMuse: Celtics 3-point shooting in Game 7. Jaylen Brown: 3-9 3P Derrick White: 5-16 3P Baylor Sheierman: 0-3 3P Payton Pritchard: 2-7 3P Hugo Gonazlez: 0-3 3P Jordan Walsh: 0-2 3P Ron Harper Jr: 0-1 3P Luka Garza: 0-2 3P Sam Hauser: 3-6 3P Mazzulla ball.
