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Inside The Celtics

UPDATED: Boston Celtics Two Players As Part of Continued Plan To Duck Luxury Tax

The Celtics brought back a familiar face as part of their efforts to get to the finish line of this season under the luxury tax, and maybe become big spenders in the future.
John Karalis|
Nov 5, 2025; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Memphis Grizzlies center Charles Bassey (28) drives to the basket as Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) defends during the second quarter at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
Nov 5, 2025; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Memphis Grizzlies center Charles Bassey (28) drives to the basket as Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) defends during the second quarter at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

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Boston Celtics

The Celtics salary cap and luxury tax dance continued on Saturday night, with the Celtics signing center Charles Bassey to a 10-day contract, according to HoopsHype's Mike Scotto. 

You may remember Bassey as a summer league standout last July, with many (myself included) making the case for him to at least get a training camp invitation. His defensive instincts and bouncy athleticism made him an intriguing possibility, especially before anyone realized what the Celtics actually had in their center rotation. 

Bassey has played in three games this season in two stops with Memphis and Philadelphia. He has played 36 minutes with nine points and 15 rebounds combined in those games.

There is a temptation to think he’s here to bolster a frontcourt missing Nikola Vučević, who is out for about two more weeks with a fractured right ring finger. And while he might, over the next 10 days or so, get a few minutes here and there, it’s more likely that he’s part of the shell game the Celtics are playing to duck the tax. 

NBA teams are required to carry at least 14 players on their roster, but they have 28 days of leeway, no more than 14 at a time, throughout the season. The Celtics have used up all 28 days, so now they have to fill their final two spots today. Signing Bassey is the first step. 

They also followed the expected plan of signing Max Shulga to a standard two-year contract, according to ESPN's Shams Charania. By going as cheap as possible, the Celtics will be able to slide under the luxury tax like Indiana Jones barely making it under a falling door.

And just like Indy reaching back to recover his hat, the Celtics will likely recover enough money to sign one more player on the final day of the season. My guess is that it will be Ron Harper Jr., both as a reward for his season and to make him eligible for the postseason. The Celtics are using him in actual rotation minutes some nights, and he just put up a career-high 22 against San Antonio, so Joe Mazzulla will likely want someone he can trust at the end of the bench in a “just in case” role come playoff time.

The Celtics efforts will not only save them a lot of money, they’ll be eligible for a tax payout from other taxpaying teams. Further, if they are able to stay under the tax next season, they will reset the repeater tax penalty, which taxes them at an exponentially higher rate than non-repeater teams. Being a repeater is defined as paying the tax in two of the previous four seasons. While it’s not imperative for the Celtics to do so, it would allow them to be more freewheeling spenders in future seasons when Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are both over 30 and Boston is making a final push to maximize their championship chances. 

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John Karalis
JOHN KARALIS

John Karalis is a 20-year veteran of Celtics coverage and was nominated for NSMA's Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year in 2019. He has hosted the Locked On Celtics podcast since 2016 and has written two books about the Celtics. John was born and raised in Pawtucket, RI. He graduated from Shea High School in Pawtucket, where he played football, soccer, baseball, and basketball and was captain of the baseball and basketball teams. John graduated from Emerson College in Boston with a Bachelor of Science degree in Broadcast Journalism and was a member of their Gold Key Honor Society. He was a four-year starter and two-year captain of the Men’s Basketball team, and remains one of the school's top all-time scorers, and Emerson's all-time leading rebounder. He is also the first Emerson College player to play professional basketball (Greece). John started his career in television, producing and creating shows since 1997. He spent nine years at WBZ, launching two different news and lifestyle shows before ascending to Executive Producer and Managing Editor. He then went to New York, where he was a producer and reporter until 2018. John is one of Boston’s original Celtics bloggers, creating RedsArmy.com in 2006. In 2018, John joined the Celtics beat full-time for MassLive.com and then went to Boston Sports Journal in 2021, where he covered the Celtics for five years. He has hosted the Locked On Celtics podcast since 2016, and it currently ranks as the #1 Boston Celtics podcast on iTunes and Spotify rankings. He is also one of the co-hosts of the Locked on NBA podcast.

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