The Boston Celtics have questions hovering over their point guard position after the team moved on from Marcus Smart and already named Derrick White the starting point guard for this upcoming season.

Not to mention still having Malcolm Brogdon in the fold after a failed attempt to trade the reigning Sixth Man of the Year and still need to work on fixing the relationship between the player and organization.

The same needs to be done with Payton Pritchard who has openly requested to be traded so that he can play more on another team. Pritchard’s minutes in the playoffs have dropped off considerably in the span of two years from 13.4 to only 5.7 minutes per game.

Boston also signed Dalano Banton, a 6-foot-9 point guard to a partially guaranteed contract for both the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons. He’s logged 53 percent of his minutes as a point guard and 45 percent as a shooting guard entering his third year in the NBA.

It’s worth mentioning Boston also has two point guards on two-way contracts in JD Davison and Jay Scrubb. And the team most recently added DJ Steward to a training camp deal that’ll allow him to go to camp with Boston and possibly make the team in some way. 

There just seems to be too much going on with the point guard position this offseason. I believe Banton needs to slide into a wing role and if he’s unable to I’m unsure if he makes the team or not (he’s guaranteed $1 million if he’s on the opening night roster).

It’s fair to say three point guards were too much to handle for Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla in regards to playing Smart, White, and Brogdon most adequately and more appropriately in lineups. This eventually led to Pritchard requesting to be traded so he can have more of a role on another team. 

It seems Boston could be heading in a similar direction this season with the amount of point guards that are in the mix right now.

Think about it: How is Pritchard supposed to get the minutes he’s expecting if Banton is also getting on the court?

Whether Banton is here for depth or not, he’s inevitably going to get in the way of Pritchard at some point this season.

I’ve always perceived the Celtics as a team that needs better wing depth than the point guard position has needed. And after parting ways with Grant Williams, the wing depth is limited in Boston.

Signing free agent Oshae Brissett was a great addition but it’s reported that he withdrew himself from FIBA with Team Canada after an apparent knee injury.

The addition of Kristaps Porzingis could add to the wing position depending on how Boston utilizes and pairs him with on the floor. It’ll likely be Rob Williams as the five which would make Porzingis the four with this pairing. It seems like Al Horford will join Brogdon as two veterans coming off the bench for the Celtics and leading that group for Boston.

When you break down the roster, there really isn’t too much depth behind Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. It’ll be a big year for Sam Hauser to prove he can be a legitimate contributor on both ends and fill that role in Boston.

The aforementioned Brissett is also an important piece here but it becomes two big exceptions from two relatively young players.

That’s why I believe there’s still another move to be made for this team. I see a world where the Celtics sign veteran free agent TJ Warren and there’s a pathway to do so without going over the second apron which seems to be an important factor for Boston.

I think the addition of Warren can balance out the roster in many ways. There needs to be a goal to manage Horford’s minutes to keep him fresh and ready in the playoffs. Warren can alleviate a lot of that stress throughout the season.

In the end, the point guard position is still crowded in Boston and that there’s still a move to be made before the start of the season.

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Photo Credit: Jim Davis, The Boston Globe, Getty Images