Eastern Notes: Celtics, Pacers, Mathurin, Raptors, Bucks

As the Celtics considered how to navigate the tax aprons for the 2025/26 league year entering this offseason, one option they explored was to try to identify prospects who might be willing to accept 80% of the rookie scale amount for the No. 28 pick, writes Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).

After the NBA sets its rookie scale for first-round picks each year, a player is permitted to sign for as little as 80% and as much as 120% of that amount. Almost every player receives the full 120%, to the point that the league sets the default cap hold for a first-round pick at that 120% figure.

However, it’s not unheard of for a player to settle for less, especially in his first season — a year ago, for instance, the Knicks were able to sign No. 25 pick Pacome Dadiet for 80% of his typical rookie scale amount. That helped New York navigate a hard cap for the rest of the season, and Dadiet will receive 120% of the rookie scale for the remainder of his deal, starting in 2025/26.

The player that Boston ultimately selected at No. 28, Spanish forward Hugo Gonzalez, didn’t agree to accept that 80% rate, Fischer notes. It remains to be seen whether he’ll receive the full 120%.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

• After expressing a willingness during their NBA Finals run to enter the luxury tax next season for the first time in two decades in 2025/26, the Pacers may rethink that approach with Tyrese Haliburton expected to miss all of next season while recovering from Achilles surgery. League sources tell Fred Katz of The Athletic that the Pacers are “still deciding how to handle their financial future.”
• Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star (subscription required) considers Bennedict Mathurin‘s case for a rookie scale extension this offseason, pointing out that – with Haliburton out for next season – the fourth-year Pacers guard may get an opportunity to play more of a featured role, which could boost his value ahead of restricted free agency in 2026.
• Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca evaluates what’s next for the Raptors in the wake of their split with longtime top executive Masai Ujiri and suggests some potential candidates for the newly opened president role.
• Bucks assistant general manager Milt Newton said on Thursday night that the team was “really ecstatic” about Bogoljub Markovic still being on the board at No. 47, adding that the team had been scouting the Serbian forward for four years. As Eric Nehm of The Athletic writes, when asked about the Bucks’ decision to draft a teenager with their only 2025 pick after taking a pair of them in last year’s draft, Newton noted that Markovic has been playing professionally overseas and might not be more than a year or two away from playing an NBA role. “We also look at upside,” Newton added. “To have a player with that length, who can do the things that he can do, those are all transferable, translatable things that you can do in the NBA.”