Boston, MA
Boston Celtics Upgrade Breakout Player To Remake Bench, Complete Tax-Saving Plan
The Boston Celtics path to remaking the end of their bench and getting under the tax line without touching any of their regular rotation players (and actually giving one of them a promotion) is now complete, and with room to spare.
As you probably remember, the Celtics traded away Xavier Tillman, Josh Minott, and Chris Boucher at the trade deadline without getting a player in return. The Celtics then played a shell game with those three spots at the end of their bench, threading a needle many thought was impossible when the season started.
After a series of 10-day contracts, Charles Bassey among them, the Celtics upgraded two rookie contracts to fill two of those roster posts.
Max Shulga, drafted 57th overall and initially signed to a two-way contract, was upgraded to partially non-guaranteed standard contract. Amari Williams, drafted 46th overall, was also signed to a similar, partially non-guaranteed standard contract.
Charles Bassey then signed two 10-day contracts, the second of which expired today, leaving Boston under the mandatory 14-man roster limit. To fill that, the Celtics made the highly-anticipated move of upgrading Ron Harper Jr.’s deal. It’s a two-year deal that will be similarly structured.
Harper has had a breakout season with the Celtics. He’s only averaging 3.4 points per game this season, but he’s had several standout games. He scored 22 points against the San Antonio Spurs, helping make up for Jaylen Brown’s ejection and giving Boston a chance to win. He also had a tremendous performance against the OKC Thunder, where he was a +15 in a two-point loss.
So this is a fitting reward for a player who has earned his spot.
“Ron has worked,” Joe Mazzulla recently said about Harper Jr. “The way he plays in games against San Antonio and OKC is the way he plays in a state-ready game, it’s the way he plays in a G League games, it’s the way he plays in practice. So he cares about winning, he cares about competing. And he executes the details very well in all settings. And so his ability to think the game and compete is top notch. He’s getting better and better.”
The upgraded contract means Harper Jr. is now eligible to play in the playoffs, which two-way players are not.
The moves have now put Boston about $38,000 under the tax, a miniscule number that is the NBA equivalent of counting out pennies at the cash register (and maybe using the take a penny, leave a penny tray). They still have an open roster spot, and the the $38,000 is enough for them to sign someone on the last day of the season and also carry him into the playoffs in case of an emergency. So it’s possible there’s another move yet to come.
Boston, MA
Family of Stephenson King, man killed by Boston police officer, wants body camera video released
The family of Stephenson King, the man shot and killed by a Boston police officer last month in Roxbury, wants body camera video from the incident released.
King’s family joined high-profile civil rights attorney Ben Crump at a news conference on Thursday to call for “real accountability” in the case. They said King had long dealt with mental health issues and showed signs of schizophrenia and paranoia.
Shooting of Stephenson King
Investigators said Boston Police officer Nicholas O’Malley shot King three times through the driver’s side window of an allegedly stolen car while he was trying to escape from police.
O’Malley said that he fired because he believed King was trying to run him and his partner over with the car.
A Boston Police Department report after the shooting determined that “regardless of their perception, that statement was factually not true.” O’Malley was arrested and pleaded not guilty to manslaughter.
Police said there is body camera video of the shooting, but it’s not being released yet. King’s family and several city councilors have called for the release of the footage.
“We should be able to see it on the video”
Crump repeated that request Thursday.
“We want everybody to understand that transparency is good for everybody. If the officer did nothing wrong, then we should be able to see it on the video. If the officer did something wrong, we should be able to see it on the video,” Crump said. “Consequently, if Stephenson did something wrong, we should be able to see it on the video. Because transparency is good for all of us. It’s good for the family, and it’s good for the Boston Police Department.”
Crump said that King had been struggling with mental health challenges since 2009. According to the attorney, King had mental health crisis the day of his death and his family had an ambulance come to the house and take him to the hospital. Crump said King somehow got out of the hospital and went to another medical facility in the hours before the encounter with Boston Police.
“Mental health is a very real issue. I pray that if you have family members who have mental health issues, when they have encounters with police, they will give them a helping hand and not three bullets in their body taking them from this world,” Crump said.
Stephenson King Sr. spoke at the news conference and said he had been trying to get his son help, even recently asking a judge to intervene.
“He shouldn’t be dead,” King Sr. said. “I’m hurt, disappointed in everything that’s happened. The day I put my son in an ambulance, I wasn’t expecting him to be dead that night.”
King’s sister Ebony said that before his death, her brother was so paranoid that he would put tape over cellphone cameras, wall outlets, and the emblems on his sneakers because he believed he was being watched.
Boston police officer hires Karen Read attorney
On Thursday, defense attorney David Yannetti announced that his firm will be representing O’Malley.
Yannetti called O’Malley “a good man who finds himself falsely accused of manslaughter because he performed his sworn duty and defended his fellow officers when confronted by a dangerous criminal with an established history of violence and felonies.”
Yannetti was the first attorney to represent Karen Read during her high-profile Massachusetts murder trial. He remained a key member of her defense through both of her trials. After a mistrial due to a hung jury, Read was acquitted of all charges except operating under the influence during her retrial.
News
So long, cocktails; hello, electrolyte drinks. Are group health events becoming the city’s preferred way to gather after dark?
Illustration by Jeannie Phan
For years, wellness was a solitary pursuit—early-morning workouts, solo spa appointments, quiet meditation apps. Now, a more collective approach is taking hold, reframing self-care as something to be shared. From candlelit sound baths to evening spa takeovers to communal ice baths, group wellness experiences are emerging as a new way to socialize—one rooted in restoration rather than reservations.
At the forefront locally is Spa After Dark, a new monthly series at the Spa at Mandarin Oriental, Boston. Held on the third Wednesday of each month, the hotel opens the spa after hours for a guided contrast-therapy experience designed to be both social and deeply restorative. Guests rotate between the sauna, vitality pool, and cold-water immersion under the direction of a trained professional, who enhances the sauna ritual with essential oils poured over hot stones, creating waves of aromatic heat.
Spa director Heather Hannig says the concept grew from her own love of thermaculture—the ancient practice of alternating heat and cold for physical renewal. When she started working at the property last year, she realized that the spa’s private suite, sauna, and soaking pools made it possible to translate that ritual into a shared, guided activity. The goal was to create something experiential rather than transactional: guests in swimsuits moving through multiple rounds of heat and cold, then lingering in lounge spaces to rehydrate and connect.
The shift to a more social experience—complete with nonalcoholic beverages, electrolyte-rich drinks, and food designed to support the body—was intentional. “As opposed to a dinner out or a bar experience, we were seeing that there’s an appetite for more group experiences that are wellness-focused, where people can socialize in this setting,” says Danielle McNally, director of marketing and communications for Mandarin Oriental, Boston.
Courtesy Remedy Place Boston
This desire for collective wellness extends beyond hotel spas. At Remedy Place Boston, guests gather for communal ice baths, sauna sessions, and breathwork in a sleek, club-like environment that prioritizes recovery and connection. Release Well-Being Center in Westborough similarly taps into the power of group energy through workshops featuring sound baths, singing bowls, and guided practices aimed at nervous-system regulation. After all, these days, social currency isn’t about cocktails—it’s about how good you feel the next morning.
This article was first published in the print edition of the March 2026 issue with the headline: “The New Happy Hour.”
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