Abdel Nader undergoes wrist surgery, will miss summer league

The Celtics announced on late Monday that Abdel Nader underwent a right wrist arthroscopy and ulnar osteotomy last week, to correct lingering issues that resulted from a fracture he suffered in high school.

Nader is scheduled to return to basketball activities in approximately 2-3 months, and is expected to be at full strength for the start of next season. It was unclear if Nader was going to be a part of the Celtics summer league team before the procedure, but he will be sidelined either way for the contests in early July.

BSJ Analysis: This surgery may help to explain what has to be considered a relatively disappointing rookie campaign by the 24-year-old last season.

Nader really struggled on the offensive end of the floor inside the arc (32 percent shooting), and it is certainly possible he was limited there by the wrist issue, particularly with his finishing at the rim.

While the Celtics announced that Nader will be ready for training camp after the procedure, it's no sure thing that he will still be on the team's roster by then. Nader is just guaranteed $450,000 of his salary for 2018-19 ahead of August 1. If the team brings in some additional end of the bench depth in free agency, they could avoid paying the rest of Nader's $1.4 million by releasing him before that deadline.

Otherwise, Nader will likely be fighting for his job during training camp in what could be a very competitive battle towards the bottom of the roster. Kadeem Allen and Jabari Bird could make a strong push for the 15th spot on the team, while any second round picks the C's trade for in the draft (they own none currently) should be in the mix as well.