"The champion Celtics don’t need to make any trades to keep Lonnie Walker for the regular season, as Boston has an open roster spot. But keep an eye on the Celtics moving Jaden Springer this year, maybe as late as the February trade deadline, to save north of $7 million in tax payments that would come with keeping Walker," Fischer wrote.

Lonnie Walker's roster status was one of the top storylines of the Celtics' preseason. He can sign with their G League affiliate.

Although Walker was signed to a seemingly manageable one-year, $2.6 million deal, the realities of the Celtics’ position above the luxury-tax threshold were too glaring to ignore.