SAN FRANCISCO — In the corner of the visiting locker room in San Francisco, Dalano Banton chatted up Jordan Walsh.
Banton and Walsh haven’t shared a locker room in years, but they picked up right where they left after Banton signed a ten-day contract with the Celtics on Thursday.
The 26-year-old guard reunited with several former teammates — Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Neemias Queta, Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, and Walsh — as he rejoined the Celtics after an up-and-down two years.
Before the Celtics 121-110 win over the Golden State Warriors, Banton spoke to CelticsBlog about returning to Boston, where he spent the first half of the 2023-2024 campaign. He spent the majority of the last two seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, where he established himself as a rotation player, but has been relegated to the G League this season.
Today, Banton is just thrilled to be back with the same organization that welcomed him years ago.
“It definitely feels good,” he told CelticsBlog. “I’m grateful and excited for the opportunity. Spending from the start of the season to right about a couple weeks ago in the G, just knowing that the uphill battle, and just sticking to the grind every day — being here is great. A lot of familiar faces, and everyone’s welcoming me back with open arms.”
Banton has had some very successful stretches since he was traded from the Celtics in February of 2024, just months before their title run. He averaged 16.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.6 assists in Portland for the remainder of that 2023-2024, and subsequently averaged 8.3 points and 2.4 assists in a more limited role with the Blazers last year.
But this year, he was not able to get an NBA contract, and thus joined the Texas Legends, the Dallas Maverick’s G League affiliate team.
In the G League, he’s stayed the course, worked hard, and hoped for an opportunity; averaging 23.7 points, 5.9 assists, and 3.4 rebounds.
Earlier this month, he got a ten-day contract with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Now, he returns to Boston, a team that will need to utilize multiple ten-day contracts this spring in order to stay below the luxury tax line.
“You have the opportunity to play every night — you’ve got to show what you can do,” Banton said. “So you eventually [hope to] get called up somewhere — knowing if that was going to be here somewhere else, I really never knew. But I’m just kind of waiting for the opportunity, and just know I have to stay down and continue to grind to get it.”
Reconnecting with Brad Stevens, Joe Mazzulla and the Celtics
Joe Mazzulla is happy to see Banton once again donning Celtics green.
“I’m glad to have him back,” Mazzulla said. “He’s worked hard when he was with us before, but just his ability to — extra ball handling — but really his ability defensively to impact the game. Whether it’s on the ball, whether it’s with his ball pressure, whether it’s his defensive activity. I’m excited to have him back and working with him.”
Banton told CelticsBlog that since he was traded from the Celtics, Brad Stevens has kept in touch.
“I’ve definitely had great relationship with a lot of people here,” he said. “Brad’s been good to me ever since they signed me here a couple years ago. He always kept that relationship with them, always talking to my agent and stuff like that about me, keeping tabs on me.”
He also said that he was particularly excited to reunite with player development coaches Steve Tchiengang and Tyler Lashbrook, both of whom are still with the Celtics.
“Tyler was my player development [coach], that’s my brother,” he said. “We always talk. All the time that I was gone, [he was] checking in on me and stuff.”
Banton didn’t lace up in his first game back with the Celtics, a blowout win over the Warriors. He’ll be with the team for the remainder of this roadtrip, which includes games against the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, and Denver Nuggets.
Then, next Friday, the Celtics host the Brooklyn Nets.
If and when he does get an on-court opportunity, Banton doesn’t want to force the issue.
“I’m not trying to come in and trying to show you everything you could do in a possession or two,” he said. “If they brought you here, I’m sure that they watched film on you, and studied your game, and know what you can do. But just definitely bringing energy, playing hard, trying to be a good teammate, and just showing your face around the organization — just in case the team, or whoever it is, does want to keep you around.”
Payton Pritchard said it was great to see Banton reconnect with his former teammates.
“It’s been a journey for him,” Pritchard said. “For him to work his way back into the league and get an opportunity again, it’s a testament to his work ethic.”
For Banton, the reunion has extended beyond just the players and coaches themselves — two years later, many of his teammates kids have grown up, too.
“When I first got here, a lot of people were just starting to have kids, and just to see that they’re getting older and stuff now is great,” he said. “It’s great to come around and just gel and rekindle with the guys.”