Championship banners hanging in the rafters at TD Garden in Boston, in a 2014 file photo. It is not from this season’s games. Photo: Benoît Prieur, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The Celtics roster 2026-27 looks different than it did a year ago, and the first two preseason games have offered the earliest look at how the new pieces fit. Boston is 2-0 in the exhibition schedule after beating the 76ers 144-106 at TD Garden on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, with Paul George, who arrived in the Jaylen Brown trade, making his Celtics debut.
This explainer pulls together who came and went, based on the Basketball-Reference transaction log, the Celtics’ official preseason announcement, and game coverage from the Boston Globe and NBC Sports Boston. For our earlier looks, see our training camp roster rundown and the Celtics vs. 76ers preseason preview. Schedule and stats are on the Celtics team page and the Boston Sports hub.
The Brown-for-George Trade
Basketball-Reference’s transaction log lists the July 6, 2026 trade this way: Boston sent Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia for Paul George, a 2028 first-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick, a 2030 second-round pick and a 2031 first-round pick, and received a trade exception. The log notes that the 2028 first is Philadelphia’s own, and that the 2028 and 2030 seconds and the 2031 first are the more favorable of the picks involved.
The Globe wrote that Brown did not play in Saturday’s game and that the Celtics did not acknowledge his presence on the sideline. A team source told the paper the Celtics plan a video tribute for him when the 76ers make their first regular-season visit to TD Garden in January.
Who Else Is New
According to Basketball-Reference, the July signings included Mike Conley, Ron Harper (multi-year contract) and Mitchell Robinson (multi-year contract), all on July 6. Chris Cenac was signed July 5, and Amari Williams signed a two-way contract July 1. Dillon Mitchell signed a two-way deal on Aug. 5.
The roster also includes Exhibit 10 signings: Tucker DeVries and Milos Uzan (July 14), Devin Carter (Sept. 14), and Gabe McGlothan and Hayden Gray (Sept. 23). Boston waived Dalano Banton on July 9. Exhibit 10 deals are training-camp contracts, so we can’t say yet which of those players will be on the opening-night roster.
What the Preseason Has Shown
Boston beat Cleveland 124-113 on Oct. 8 while resting its top rotation players, per our preview. Saturday was the first time the regular starters played together. NBC Sports Boston reported the 144 points were a team record for a preseason game. Payton Pritchard scored 25 off the bench and Jayson Tatum had 23; the Celtics made 22 of 47 three-pointers, according to the Globe.
George scored 13 points with five rebounds, five steals and four assists, NBC Sports Boston reported. The team had 16 steals and outrebounded Philadelphia by 29. Robinson started at center over Neemias Queta, and the Globe cautioned that it’s a mistake to read deeply into preseason lineups.
Tatum’s Return and the Bigger Picture
Tatum said he feels fresh and healthy after a full summer of rehab on the Achilles he injured in May 2025, the Globe reported. He returned for 22 games last season. He finished Saturday with 23 points, five rebounds, four assists and a plus-19.
The Globe’s takeaway is that the team has to lean on depth with one superstar rather than two, and that George is expected to fill a role as a defender and secondary scorer. Whether that works over 82 games is not something two exhibition games can answer.
What Is Still Unknown
The Celtics haven’t announced their opening-night starting five, and the preseason rotations are not a guide to it. We also don’t know which of the camp contracts will make the final roster. Boston plays Charlotte on Oct. 14 at TD Garden and finishes the preseason at Philadelphia on Oct. 16, both at times listed by the team, before the regular season begins. We’ll update when the roster is set.
Sources
- Basketball-Reference: 2026-27 Boston Celtics transactions
- Celtics.com: Celtics announce 2026-27 preseason schedule
- Boston Globe: Celtics preseason observations, Tatum looks sharp as Brown sits
- Boston Globe: First impressions positive of Boston’s new look
- NBC Sports Boston: Celtics-Sixers recap, Payton Pritchard leads C’s