Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens continues to lock up his team’s fleet of young wings.
The Celtics reportedly agreed to a three-year, $15 million extension with 22-year-old Jordan Walsh. Boston previously picked up Walsh’s $2.4 million option for the 2026-27 season, and now has Walsh on the books through the 2029-30 season. HoopsHype reported the deal includes a third-year team option.
Ron Harper Jr. inked a four-year, $13.7. million extension at the start of the summer. Baylor Scheierman is extension eligible next summer, while Hugo Gonzalez has three years remaining on his rookie deal. The Celtics will pay none of those players more than three percent of the salary cap in any of those seasons.
For Walsh, there’s a bit of security after riding a bit of a playing time roller coaster in his first three seasons in Boston. For the team, it’s a low-cost, high-reward opportunity given that Walsh is still young for his experience level and has had moments where he displayed All-Defense potential on the court.
Walsh appeared in 68 games for Boston last season, including 25 starts. The majority of those starts came in November and December when Walsh had rivals raving about his defensive potential. Lakers guard Austin Reaves went as far as to suggest that he could see Walsh “being one of the best defenders in the league,” after an early December tilt.
Walsh’s playing time ebbed and flowed during calendar year 2026, but he finished the 2025-26 campaign strong and carved out a playoff role. Walsh might have been the team’s best defender against Tyrese Maxey and logged 12.7 minutes per game in seven appearances against Philadelphia.
Walsh and the rest of Boston’s stable of young wings will get every opportunity to step into a larger role after the Celtics traded away All-NBA wing Jaylen Brown this summer.
Walsh was the 38th pick in the 2023 draft. He appeared in just nine games during his rookie season when Boston’s talent-filled roster won the 2024 title, then played 52 games in his sophomore campaign. Last season he averaged 5.6 points, 4 rebounds, 0.7 steals, and 0.5 blocks over 17.8 minutes per game.
Walsh ranked in the 84th percentile among wings, holding opponents to 2.3 percent below expected output during his floor time.
