Team: Boston Celtics · Forward · Age 22 · Base role: seven-minute matchup defender with a non-guaranteed standard contract
Projection card
| GP | MPG | 3PM | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG% | FT% | TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55 | 7.0 | 0.3 | 2.1 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | .500 | .760 | 0.3 |
Correction 2026-07-18: minutes raised from 5.0 to 7.0 and appearances from 48 to 55. Cutting a player who logged 68 games and 25 starts at 17.8 MPG on .509/.384 down to five minutes overstated the compression. The raise stays small because Tatum's return from 16 games to a projected 72, plus George's arrival, genuinely reclaims the forward minutes Walsh's 25 starts came out of — and because the non-guaranteed salary keeps the roster branch live.
Nine-category: waiver player at baseline; rebounds/stocks can make him a deep stream in 20-plus minutes. Points: no base role. Dynasty: speculative youth hold only in very deep formats because the defensive archetype is useful, but the contract and shooting role are unsettled.
Why the line looks like this
Walsh had real 2025-26 opportunity: 68 games, 25 starts and 17.8 minutes per game. He averaged 5.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 0.7 steals and 0.5 blocks while shooting 50.9% from the field and 38.4% from three. Those percentages are encouraging, but the scoring volume and 0.8 assists show how dependent he remains on defense, cutting and transition.
Boston exercised his option, yet reporting described the 2026-27 salary as non-guaranteed. The team then retained Harper, added George, and still has Gonzalez, Scheierman and Hauser. That is why the base falls well below last season. The projection assumes he survives the roster decision; a trade or waiver before opening night is a live branch.
Sources: NBA/Celtics player page, CelticsBlog report on his option and roster state, Basketball Reference 2025-26 Celtics.
Category shape
- Wins with minutes: rebounds, steals, blocks and efficient low-usage finishes.
- Developing: catch-and-shoot three; the 38.4% result came on limited responsibility.
- Costs: almost no assists and insufficient points/threes in a reserve role.
- Build fit: deep punt-points or stocks hunting, especially when Boston needs length.
Floor, base, ceiling
- Floor: waived or traded into another depth role before the season; zero Boston minutes.
- Base: survives but averages seven competitive-game minutes across 55 appearances.
- Ceiling: wins the defensive-wing competition and returns near 18-20 minutes: roughly 6-4 with one combined stock and a playable FG mark.
Risk and confidence
| Component | Confidence | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Roster | Low-medium | Option exercised, but salary reported non-guaranteed |
| Minutes | Low | Many wings and no singular offensive skill demanding court time |
| Rates | Medium | 68-game sample supports rebounds/stocks; shooting volume is small |
| Availability | High | Role, not injury, is the central uncertainty |
The first gate is making the opening roster. After that, preseason rotation order against Harper and Hauser determines whether five minutes is too pessimistic.
Career record
Pre-NBA: Arkansas, one season (2022-23): 36 GP (22 starts), 7.1 PTS / 3.9 REB / 0.9 AST on .433/.278/.712; part of a Sweet 16 team. Draft: 2023, Round 2, Pick 38, Sacramento Kings — rights traded to Boston on draft night for Colby Jones (No. 34) plus a 2024 second.
| Season | Age | Team | GP | MPG | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PM | FG% | FT% | TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | 19 | BOS | 9 | 9.2 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.2 | .400 | .500 | 0.3 |
| 2024-25 | 20 | BOS | 52 | 7.8 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | .361 | .583 | 0.3 |
| 2025-26 | 21 | BOS | 68 | 17.8 | 5.4 | 4.0 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.7 | .509 | .772 | 0.5 |
| Career | — | BOS | 129 | 13.2 | 3.6 | 2.8 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.5 | .471 | .732 | 0.4 |
He also carried Maine (G League) as a rookie: 27 regular-season games, all starts, 14.7 PTS / 7.5 REB, plus a Finals run.
Durability: No injury story — 9, then 52, then 68 games, tracking rotation trust rather than health. The rookie-year 9 NBA games reflect a season spent mostly on G-League assignment.
Trajectory: The record is a clean development arc: G-League workhorse, then fringe NBA reserve, then a real 2025-26 rotation piece (68 GP, 25 starts) whose shooting jumped from .361 to .509 FG and .273 to .384 from three. In 2026-27 he competes for the last defensive-wing rotation spot behind Tatum, George, Harper and Hauser on a non-guaranteed salary. He becomes fantasy-relevant only if he both survives the roster cut and wins back 18-plus minutes — at which point the rebounds-plus-stocks profile from last season is a plausible deep-league stream, since it was produced against NBA competition, not projected.
Career sources: ESPN career stats, ESPN profile, Wikipedia.
Open questions
- Is Walsh on the opening-night 15-man roster?
- Does Boston trust the 2025-26 three-point improvement enough to use him beside two non-shooting bigs?
- Can he add connective passing and escape a defense-only role?