The Boston Celtics have come to terms with centre Neemias Queta on a 4 year, fully guaranteed extension worth $56M the team announced Friday.
Starting for the first time in his career last season, Queta averaged 10.2pts and 8.4reb per game while shooting over 65% from the field across 76 games. Defensively, he chipped in with 1.3 blocks and 0.8 steals per contest as the 5th year big man registered career highs in virtually every statistical category.
For his efforts, he finished in 4th place for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award in 2025-26.
With Jaylen Brown out of the picture, and the additions of Paul George and Mitchell Robinson to the team’s front court mix, it remains to be seen where Queta will ultimately slot in next season. In all likelihood, he becomes a vital piece of the team’s rotation, but could see most of his minutes coming off the bench barring an injury to one of Boston’s starting five.
Nevertheless, Boston has locked in a key piece of their immediate future on a team friendly $2.67M team option for the upcoming season, before Queta’s price tag jumps to $14M a year in 2027-28. With him now linked to the team through the 2030-31 NBA campaign, the Celtics will be able to use the upcoming year to judge what direction the club is heading in following the blockbuster trade with Philadelphia.
George is entering the final guaranteed year of his deal, before having a $56.6M player option for 2027-28 when he will be 37. There’s a world in which Queta serves as a “break in case of emergency” plan should the former 76ers forward’s checkered injury history rear its ugly head again, or he opts out of his deal following the upcoming season.
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