The Celtics are declining their $2.6MM option on guard/forward Ron Harper Jr. and re-signing him to a three-year, $9MM contract, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Harper’s projected minimum salary for next season would be worth about $2.6MM and would work out to about $8.99MM over three years.
A four-year veteran, Harper originally signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Celtics last September and made the team’s roster after being promoted to a two-way deal before the 2025/26 season began. He was converted to a two-year standard contract in early April, about a week before the regular season ended.
Harper didn’t play much for Boston to open ’25/26, but he became a semi-regular member of the rotation over the final two months of the regular season. He appeared in 29 total games, averaging 4.0 points and 1.7 rebounds in 11.0 minutes per contest, with a shooting slash line of .418/.350/.750.
While Harper’s NBA role was fairly modest, he put up outstanding numbers in the G League with the Maine Celtics, averaging 25.4 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.3 SPG and 1.3 BPG on .474/.387/.754 shooting in 18 games (31.2 minutes). The 26-year-old was a very high volume three-point shooter, converting 4.2 of his 10.8 attempts per game in the NBAGL.
Harper, who spent his first three NBA seasons on two-way deals with Toronto and Detroit, will provide depth on the wing for the Celtics as they look to improve upon last season’s first-round playoff exit. Harper is the son of former NBA guard Ron Harper and the older brother of Spurs guard Dylan Harper.
