The Celtics have signed Dalano Banton to a 10-day contract and converted the two-way deal of John Tonje also into a 10-day contract, according to league insider Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype.
The separate deals bring the Celtics roster to the league minimum of 14-signed players with standard contracts, following the NBA deadline moves made that left the C's roster with only 12 signed players.
Banton, who averaged 6.7 points in 14.5 minutes per contest in five seasons combined with the Raptors, Celtics, Trail Blazers, and Clippers, returns to Boston after being on the roster during the 2023-24 championship season but was traded to Portland at the deadline where he remained through 2024-25. He began this season with the Dallas Mavericks' G League affiliate Texas Legends, before signing a 10-day deal with the Clippers at the beginning of the month but didn't play.
At 6-foot-8, Banton is a guard and ballhandler that can score in a multitude of ways. He's a career 40.3% shooter from the field and 30.4% from three-point range.
Tonje is a 6-foot-4 rookie forward, who was recently added on a two-way contract with Boston after being acquired at the trade deadline in a cost-cutting swap that sent Chris Boucher to the Utah Jazz. He was the 53rd overall last June and has been a standout for the Salt Lake City Stars of the G League this season, averaging 18 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game.
The Celtics avoided any sort of luxury tax with their moves ahead of the trade deadline, after sending Anfernee Simons to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Nikola Vučević, and salary-dumping Chris Boucher to the Utah Jazz, Xavier Tillman Sr. to the Charlotte Hornets, and Josh Minott to the Brooklyn Nets.
With only 12 players on the roster, teams can only carry fewer than 14 players for up to 14 days at a time -- and fewer than 28 total days. So, on February 19th, the Celtics really had no choice but to add two players. They can essentially go back to 12 players come March, in order to stay below the tax line, but they'll eventually have to return to a league minimum, 14-player roster again.
With the 10-day contracts, it allows the Celtics to remain below the tax line, despite reports suggesting that the moves president of basketball operations Brad Stevens made to save money were not necessarily coming from ownership.
The Celtics (35-19) return to action following the All-Star break tonight in San Francisco when they face the Golden State Warriors (29-26).
Joel Pavón
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