The Boston Celtics released guards Dionte Christmas and Jamar Smith on Tuesday, trimming their roster to 16 players two weeks before the start of the regular season.
Both players were vying for roster spots on partially guaranteed deals after strong showings with the Celtics’ summer league teams in Orlando and Las Vegas, but neither did enough in camp and exhibition play to nail down a spot.
The Celtics will eat roughly $250,000 in guaranteed money, including $236,800 for Christmas, whose minimum deal was half-guaranteed.
The moves could indicate that rookie second-round draft pick Kris Joseph, playing on a fully non-guaranteed deal, is closer to securing a spot, but Boston also might be pondering adding a veteran ball-handler for one of its final roster spots.
While $250,000 doesn't sound like much to absorb for a team with a payroll of nearly $72 million, Boston is hard-capped at the $74.3 million tax apron after using the full value of its mid-level exception on Jason Terry, leaving every dollar valuable while trying to construct the deepest 15-man roster possible.
The team still has two non-guaranteed camp invites on the roster in Rob Kurz and Micah Downs.
