The financial implications of waiving guard JD Davison are why the Celtics ultimately made the move, Brian Robb of MassLive writes. By letting go of Davison, the Celtics slid under the second apron by approximately $1.9MM with 14 players on the roster.
By moving under the apron, the Celtics can send out cash in a trade, can aggregate salaries and are beginning the path to opening their 2032 pick up for trade. As Robb explains, once Boston stays under the second apron for three straight seasons, they’ll unfreeze that pick.
Cutting Davison now as opposed to later allowed him to reach a two-way deal in Houston, where he’ll reunite with former Boston head coach Ime Udoka.
We have more notes from the Atlantic Division:
- Ben Simmons and Landry Shamet continue to be candidates for a spot on the Knicks‘ 15-man roster, Ian Begley of SNY writes in a mailbag. As has been previously reported, the Knicks are among the teams awaiting Simmons’ decision, and Begley suggests that several staffers have interest in bringing back Shamet for a second season as well. As Begley writes, the Knicks have enough room under the second apron to bring in one veteran and one draft-rights player on a rookie deal. 2025 second-round Mohamed Diawara looks like a top candidate for that latter role, though that’s speculation.
- In a subscriber-only story, Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post writes that by taking a discount on his extension, Mikal Bridges put himself in rare air and established himself as a core Knick for years to come.
- The Nets announced their preseason schedule for the upcoming season, NetsDaily relayed. The only home game on the four-game schedule is a tilt against Hapoel Jerusalem.