BOSTON — The Celtics entered last year’s Summer League with explicit goals for projected contributors in Payton Pritchard, Romeo Langford, Carsen Edwards and Aaron Nesmith to diversify their games. All could’ve been relied upon in the regular season and led a Las Vegas squad loaded with a pair of draft-and-stash talents, a center with NBA experience in Bruno Fernando and an encouraging undrafted shooter in Sam Hauser. None would pan out and Boston quickly pivoted toward a veteran-led roster that made the Finals.
Only Hauser returns one year later with the best chance to break a rotation that appears 10-deep in front of him. This year’s Summer League collective face a long shot to impact the pro team, and instead of any concrete goals, Celtics assistant coach Ben Sullivan previewed a platform for his roster to break through and advance individual aspirations. A showcase of sorts.
“The main goal in Summer League for these guys is that it’s their opportunity,” Sullivan said. “It’s their chance to improve, their chance to get better, their chance to have success and find their way in this league, and we’re here to help them in every way possible do that. There’s also an opportunity for us to work on different things and experiment and get in the lab and work on some stuff. It’s a great opportunity for all of us. We’re excited for it.”
Boston’s roster for the week ahead in Las Vegas only came together within the past day after nearly half the projected roster, including Nesmith, Juwan Morgan, Malik Fitts and Nik Stauskas got traded in a reported deal for Malcolm Brogdon that’s still unofficial until Morgan’s contract can be included on July 8.
That leaves Hauser, rookie JD Davison, Matt Ryan and Brodric Thomas, Boston’s two-way players from last season, 2021 second-round pick Juhann Begarin and another intriguing undrafted free agent in Trevion Williams from Purdue. A.J. Reeves, Jericole Hellems, Jordan Bone, Mfiondu Kabengele and Bryton Hobbs, Jayson Tatum’s 30-year-old cousin.
Sam Hauser
The Celtics came to terms with Hauser on a three-year deal worth $6-million, with the first two seasons guaranteed, according to the Boston Globe. The move, after tearing up his one-year deal, reinforces the confidence the team gained watching him grow behind the scenes, first on a two-way contract after a successful Summer League and explosive stints in Maine, then joining the team full-time after a trade deadline roster exodus.
“There’s a lot of things we like about Sam,” Sullivan told CLNS Media on Tuesday. “He’s a good shooter, he’s a good person, he’s a hard worker, he’s a pro, he shows up every day, he puts the work in, he puts the time in, he understands the game. There’s a lot of things Sam brings to the table, and he has good size. Sam can do a lot of different things besides just shoot. As for any guy, when you’re working to improve as a player, you’ve got to understand individually what you need to do as a player, how you can be effective, and also within the context of the team, how to be a better team defender. Sam spent some time in Maine, some time here, some time working in the play groups and all that stuff. He was great every step of the way, just really understanding there are things he had to work on to get better and try to get on the floor.”
Ime Udoka noted Hauser’s defensive improvement late in the season after he averaged 16.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game in Maine on 43.3% three-point shooting, attempting 9.0 each night. He played only 158 minutes in 26 spot appearances late in games in the NBA, though maintaining his encouraging 43% mark by hitting 19-of-44 from deep. He missed time during the postseason with a right shoulder instability episode from a fall in practice during the Milwaukee series, returning to the floor in the Finals and playing in the team’s Tuesday scrimmage, missing a pair of threes and scoring inside.
This summer presents an intriguing opportunity for him to let it fly from deep, while trying to attack some closeouts, make reads on those drives and score more at the basket. His ability to show his defensive growth will determine if he can break into the rotation, and his pure shooting will give him the best chance of anyone on this Las Vegas roster. Hauser could even end up taking an early seat if he dominates.
“First and foremost his shooting stands out,” Udoka said in April. “Elite shooter. He’s been that since I saw him, had him in the building and obviously with the G-League team he’s been doing that, but he’s a very cerebral player across the board. He’s fit in well in games that he’s played early in the season when guys were injured, we plugged him right in and he didn’t really miss a beat as far as defensively and some of the things we were looking for. So always in the right spot, great team defender and knows how to use himself, his angles and cerebral guy, like I said, not just offensively, but defensively as well. So he’s a guy that we’re comfortable putting in with starters and other guys any time of the game. The shooting’s always there, but it’s more than that. He’s a well-rounded player.”
JD Davison
The Celtics drafted Davison No. 53 overall last week, not working him out, but Davison caught Brad Stevens and his staff’s eyes enough during their visits to Alabama to take a flier on him when he fell down the board. They view him as a developmental project, awaiting to see what he can pull off in Las Vegas before deciding the route he’ll take to join the roster. Boston has three open spots on the team they’ll likely need to utilize for center and wing depth, before possibly handing the final spot to the top summer standout.
“All you have to do is turn on a couple minutes of clips and you can see the upside,” Stevens said after the draft. “Now it’s about making it so that he gets accustomed to the NBA game, and he’s not going to have, barring anything crazy here, a ton of pressure to come in and impact us right away or move the needle for us right away.”
Davison showed off his limited scoring game in the half court in Boston’s intra-squad scrimmage on Tuesday at day two of practice. He missed a lone catch-and-shoot opportunity and didn’t attempt any looks in-between, where he only tried four shots in his entire freshman season at Alabama. Davison, 19, enters young enough to hope he can layer functional offensive skill on top of his elite athleticism that made him a top high school recruit, but a 30.1% mark from three alongside a high 2.9 TOV average don’t bode well toward immediate summer success.
“My season at Alabama didn’t go as well as I wanted it to,” Davison told CLNS Media on Tuesday. “But I think I had spurts of what I could show or do on the NBA level. My decision was because the NBA floor is so spaced for a dynamic guard like me, I think it was the best for me to go out and go to the draft.”
He described himself as a combo guard at this level and expressed optimism he can help the team sooner rather than later. The defense-first mindset in Boston fits his ability to cut passing lanes and contest shots at the rim. He grabbed a steal guarding the pick-and-roll timing a Juhann Begarin pass and deflecting another kick-out later to Hauser. Davison said he hopes to learn from Marcus Smart and Malcolm Brogdon at that end of the floor.
“I can pass, I can score and I can defend,” Davison said. “It don’t matter where I’m at, on the ball or off the ball, I’m just going to be a dog on both ends of the court.”
Juhann Begarin
Begarin stood out as much as any Celtic last summer as an unknown prospect from Guadeloupe, who Boston drafted 45th overall last summer. Standing 6’5″ with an 8’9″ standing reach and 7’0″ wingspan, Begarin also featured above-the-rim burst and explosion in the full court along with the tools to project him eventually being a defensive presence in the NBA. Unlike most 19-year-olds, his strong frame allowed him to show immediate flashes in the Summer League — averaging 6.2 PPG, 3.4 RPG and 3.0 APG on 39.4% shooting.
Nonetheless, Begarin returned to France and played for Paris Basketball’s main team, scoring 11.1 PPG on 43.2% FG, right now an inefficient driver, poor three-point shooter and not showing much hope for improvement in the latter with a 56.3% mark at the free throw line. He could be years away, and fortunately has time on his side.
When Begarin can knock down a catch-and-shoot jumper, his release doesn’t look bad, but inconsistent results there have continued through his early basketball development. He showed his propensity to attempt wild passes in the lane on Tuesday, dropping off an assist behind him in transition before tossing another no-look feed for Ryan in the corner that the guard had to chase down to turn into a fadeaway make. He hit a three-pointer from the left wing from Davison and missed another in the scrimmage.
“I’ve liked what he’s brought to the table,” Sullivan said. “Good athlete, good size, can pass, can find his teammates, get downhill, finish at the rim, can really defend, competitive, so really just getting to know him a little bit and seeing his progression from last year in summer league to this year and seeing where he’s at, really like what he’s done so far.”
Brodric Thomas
Two-way guard provided some emergency wing depth when COVID hit the Celtics hard in the winter, averaging 1.8 PPG on 44.4% shooting in 12 appearances with Boston in his second NBA season at 24-years-old out of Truman State. He only made seven appearances in Maine due to that constant need for end of the bench depth, averaging 19.3 PPG, 5.3 RPG and 3.6 APG on 54% shooting when he did appear there.
He’s now a restricted free agent as all two-way players become at the conclusion of their deal. His size and solid defensive tools could keep him around on the back end of the roster if he shows out in Vegas. The team probably wants to fill its two-way depth with a younger player with more upside like Davison or anyone else who breaks free at the end of training camp. Look out for him to potentially grab the 15th roster spot or find a deal elsewhere.
Matt Ryan
Ryan signed with the Celtics on Feb. 28 after a busy trade deadline saw the bottom of the roster cut out and give Hauser, Luke Kornet and others an opportunity for full-time deals on the team and leave the second slot next to Thomas open for weeks. Stevens eventually settled on Ryan, a sharpshooter from New York who made college stops at Notre Dame, Vanderbilt and Chattanooga before taking odd jobs in between his G-League stints.
He played only five minutes with the Celtics and didn’t play for Maine due to his late arrival, becoming more known for his bench celebrations in plain clothes during the postseason due to his two-way status. He did shoot 38% from three in 2021 in 12 games for the Gold, Denver’s G-League affiliate. At 25, he may not have enormous upside, but shooting always provides promise in the league today and he hit two difficult fadeaway looks from the corner in Boston’s scrimmage on Tuesday, flashing a nice assist to Hauser in the corner for a driving layup. He’s currently a restricted free agent.
Trevion Williams
There’s real potential for the 21-year-old big man to become the story of Summer League for the Celtics, and perhaps contend for a roster spot given his 6’9″, 265-pound frame. He’s down from over 300 pounds when he first began his college career, continuously cutting through four years and this spring to give himself a shot at the NBA as an offensively-gifted big man who can read the floor with the best of them.
He averaged 12.0 PPG, 7.4 RPG and 3.0 APG on 54.7% shooting, hitting five threes on 14 tries to show potential to step back and hit longer jump shots. He missed his lone fadeaway try in Boston’s scrimmage badly off glass, mostly sticking to his specialty of serving dimes that’ll inevitably dazzle crowds and viewers from Las Vegas, but will it be enough to make the roster? It depends what kind of deals await him in free agency.
There may be a team out there that takes him as a second-round flier if he shows enough offensive and playmaking potential in Summer League. For the Celtics, they’re going to need a more reliable backup big to Robert Williams III and Al Horford than Williams can probably prove he can be over the next few weeks. The two-way slot will almost inevitably be open to him, but unlike Davison, Boston doesn’t have rights to prevent Williams from looking elsewhere once he’s done working with Summer League. There’s potential here.
A.J. Reeves
Roxbury native who attended Providence for three seasons and tried out for the Celtics ahead of the draft and his attempt to make the leap to the league. He stands 6’6″at 205 pounds and averaged 9.6 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 1.7 APG and 1.0 SPG on 35.3% shooting in his final season with the Friars. The Celtics likely hope to get him to training camp and eventually join the Maine roster.
Jordan Bone
A former Pistons and Magic guard who averaged 2.8 PPG in two NBA seasons before spending last year overseas with Turkish and Spanish teams. Bone played alongside Grant Williams at the University of Tennessee from 2016-2019, the pair combining for 32.3 PPG in their final season together before both making the leap to the NBA in the 2019 draft — where Bone got selected 57th overall.
Mfiondu Kabengele
Once a promising first-round pick in the 2019 NBA Draft out of Florida State who probably landed with the wrong team in the Clippers who held him for two seasons with no real path to playing time before trading him in 2021 to the Kings, before he bounced to the Cavaliers and Houston’s G-League affiliate for spot stints where he continued to show some potential as a scorer with size.
The question now is whether he can provide anything else to warrant offering a roster spot to the 6’10”, 250-pound prospect. Kabengele’s G-League stats point toward yes — 17.5 PPG, 10.6 RPG and 1.5 APG with 1.1 SPG and 1.0 BPG on 57% shooting. He shot 37.4% from three in college, but that number only translated to 31.4% in the NBA, albeit with a good free throw percentage. Prepare to be impressed, but it’s unlikely the Celtics will be the ones to offer him his next contract.
Jericole Hellems
A 22-year-old undrafted rookie forward who attended Jayson Tatum’s high school, Chaminade, graduating in 2018 before attending N.C. State for three seasons, averaging 12.9 PPG, 5.0 RPG and 1.8 APG on 45.2% shooting last season. He’s third in all-time scoring at Chaminade behind Tatum and Bradley Beal.
Bryton Hobbs
Another Tatum connection. The 30-year-old is Tatum’s cousin and a fellow St. Louis native, attending Northeastern State from 2010-2014 before spending a season in Lithuania in 2017-18.
Aubrey Dawkins
A 27-year-old forward from North Carolina, who played for Michigan and UCF before going undrafted in 2019 after averaging 15.6 PPG on 46.3% shooting in his transfer season. He shot 42.2% from three across three college seasons and played the last years overseas between Germany and Turkey.
Robert Franks
A 25-year-old forward from Seattle who attended Washington State through 2019 before going undrafted. He spent time in the Hornets, Kings and Magic organizations after, before spending last season in Australia. He’s currently signed to return there this year with the Adelaine 36ers, averaging 18.2 PPG on 50% shooting with 8.9 RPG.
