More on Guerschon Yabusele Free Agency
Mark Murphy: Celtics keeping options open re: Tacko Fall and his training camp contract. With Yabu gone, extra roster spot gives flexibility that can be used in variety of ways.
The Celtics have until Wednesday to make decisions on three players’ futures. Two are dead-lock certainties. One is not. While the club will clearly be exercising their 2019-20 options on Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the call on Guerschon Yabusele is more complicated. Tatum will get his third-year slot of $7,830,000 next season and Brown will get his fourth-year number, $6,534,829. The Celtics aren’t letting either get out of their sight.
And even though Yabusele’s third-year guarantee would be for a relatively modest $3,117,240, the real dollars are much greater. The club would be committing more than double that because of the luxury tax implications. And at present, Yabusele isn’t part of the main rotation and doesn’t figure to get there without injuries or roster moves that open playing time. It’s possible the Celts could decline the option and sign Yabusele to a more team-friendly deal next summer. But if the C’s pass now, the Dancing Bear will be an unrestricted free agent -- and if he shows something this season, he could be wanted elsewhere. What’s more, if there is demand, Boston would be able to start a new deal at an amount no higher than what it declined. If the option is picked up, the process will play out again at this time next season, when a call will have to be made on $4,781,846 for 2020-21.
But he’s not concerning himself with that just now. “I would love to be back here with the team,” Yabusele said. “The Celtics are a great organization, so if I have a chance to be back here, I would love to do that.”
