The roster won’t have the same star power as the last two seasons, but there is still plenty on the line for young pieces on the Celtics summer league squad this year. There are three NBA bigs on the roster (Robert Williams, Guerschon Yabusele and Semi Ojeleye), along with a pair of two-way wings (Jabari Bird and Kadeem Allen), so this group should be strong from a defensive standpoint. Without Jaylen Brown or Jayson Tatum to carry the scoring load this year, opportunities will be plentiful for others to make a meaningful impression and help solidify their NBA future.
What exactly should Celtics fans be watching for in Las Vegas while keeping the future in mind? Here are five storylines to keep an eye on:
1. Will Guerschon Yabusele show enough to get his team option picked up in the fall? The lovable Frenchmen will be playing his second summer league stint in Las Vegas (he also played in 2016 before being stashed in China). The power forward did not have many opportunities with the big club last season but he stood out on a few occasions, due to his confident 3-point stroke and passing vision. Summer league head coach Jay Larranaga had some high praise for the youngster this past week when comparing his potential to past Celtic talent.
“I always told Guerschon since he joined us that he reminds me a lot of Kelly Olynyk,” Larranaga said, "In just the way he’s very skilled as a big guy that can play on the perimeter, he’s an excellent passer, he’s an excellent ball mover. So that’s kind of a role model I’ve given for him. I think one of the things Kelly gave to us a lot was just ball movement. Just moving the ball, getting it to the second side, getting it to the third side. Guerschon’s really worked on his shooting and I expect that he’ll demonstrate that in the next couple of weeks. But, play defense, shoot when you’re open, pass when you’re not.”
The 22-year-old is still buried on the depth chart for next season behind the likes of Al Horford, Marcus Morris, Daniel Theis and Aron Baynes, which makes a chance at a thorough evaluation against NBA(ish) talent so crucial in the summer. The Celtics won’t get a chance to utilize him much in a high-usage environment outside of practice and the G-League, so this is a crucial shot for them to figure out whether his development is worth waiting on.
The team has a $3.1 million team option on Yabusele for the 2019-20 season and the deadline to exercise it is just a few months away (October). While picking it up may seem like a no-brainer given the cheap cost, ownership will be dealing with a hefty luxury tax bill next season, which will give every roster spot and salary additional scrutiny. Would the Celtics be better off signing a veteran to a league minimum deal for extra depth on a championship contender in 2019? Or will Yabusele show enough potential to justify the additional financial commitment on the back end of the roster and improve his status as a rotation piece or trade chip? Yabusele’s performance this summer will help answer that question for the front office.
2. Can Semi Ojeleye expand his offensive skillset with more reps? The second-year forward caught the eye of Brad Stevens during last year’s summer league camp with his defense and that translated into crucial contributions for the versatile SMU product all season long. The Celtics now know he can hang with some of the NBA’s best offensive weapons, so the focus this summer will be on improving what was a very subpar offensive season for the 6-foot-6 forward. Ojeleye’s offensive game was limited (2.6 field goal attempts per game) and inefficient (34 FG%). He mostly stuck to the perimeter for those chances and that did not help with spacing on most nights (32 percent from 3), which made Ojeleye a liability for the offense. The 23-year-old clearly has more scoring capability (averaged 18.5 ppg at SMU) than he showed last year, so the team is eager to expand his skillset at the NBA level with more reps.
“Offensively, this is a great opportunity because you get thrown into starting in the playoffs, you have a slim margin for error on offense,” Larranaga noted. “When you have a small margin for error, it's really, I think, more difficult. We're going to try him as many touches as possible. Just being comfortable is such a big part of making shots, so I'm really excited for his opportunity this summer.”
The defensive standout is under contract for the next three seasons in Boston at close to league minimum money, so his offensive development could be a huge help from a team-building standpoint. If Ojeleye can become a respectable 3-point shooter, that will let Stevens count on him for bigger minutes off the bench and let the front office save money at the position. That would allow them to address other areas of the roster amid a luxury tax crunch that looms next summer.
3. Will Robert Williams do enough to take the attention off his first week attendance issues? If the No. 27 overall pick wanted to set low expectations for himself during his rookie year, he managed to do just that after missing a conference call and his first official practice less than 10 days apart. While those miscues are a bit worrisome, they ultimately won’t mean much in the long run if Williams shows off the talent on the floor that made him a projected lottery pick.
Summer league is generally not a great spot for big guys to excel. There is limited spacing (due to the subpar shooting talent) and lots of fouling. Williams will be one of the most athletic players taking part in the action so it will be interesting to see whether he’s able to separate himself from the rest of a star-studded rookie class of bigs.
One freeing part of the NBA game for Williams is that it will allow him to play with more shooting surrounding him than he had over the past two years. Flanking the rookie with a pair of 3-point threats in Ojeleye and Yabusele should help clear out the paint for Williams for some transition and finishing opportunities. He spent a lot of time at Texas A&M playing next to a center with no range, so that should be a nice change of pace for him.
Defensively, Williams will post a few highlight reel blocks, but can he prove himself capable of playing within an NBA defensive scheme? That might be the biggest part of his game the Celtics’ brass will be watching this week.
“His role is like everybody else on the team's role,” Larranaga said of Williams expectations this week. “You got to be able to play defense, play with multiple efforts and play unselfishly on offense. Understanding your own skill level, understanding your strengths and weaknesses as a player is something we emphasize during the season. Understanding your opponent's strengths and weaknesses is something we emphasize during the season. Like we said, we try to mimic what we do during the season the best that we can.”
4. Who strengthens their case for the final roster spot? With Abdel Nader sidelined following offseason wrist surgery, the small forward won’t be able to improve his case for the final spot on the 15-man roster this summer. Nader’s contract is only partially guaranteed, so there is a distinct possibility that he could be cut loose in the coming weeks if the team does not think he is a lock to make the roster. Kadeem Allen is already signed to a two-way contract through next season, but Jabari Bird is currently a restricted free agent. The team probably hopes they can eventually ink him to a two-way deal, but if another team offers him a full NBA spot, the C’s will have to match it or let him walk. A strong performance by Bird in summer league could help to improve his free agent value and tempt possible suitors into offering him that type of a deal.
“Last year coming in as a rookie I didn’t really know what to expect,” Bird admitted this week. “I was kind of going off instinct. Now coming back for my second year doing it, I’ve got a better feel offensively and defensively. I’m just more comfortable with my game than last year.”
Boston doesn’t have to cut Nader to make room for Bird (a team can have 20 players on the roster during offseason), but it’s a distinct possibility those two will be battling for just one spot in training camp, if Nader is still around. Bird showed some encouraging flashes with his perimeter defense and cutting ability in limited minutes (115 total) on the NBA level last season. He’ll get a far bigger offensive role with this summer league group, so the pressure will be on him to convince the Celtics or some other squad he’s worth a spot on a 15-man roster.
5. An early look at the competition: The Celtics will face off with the Sixers in their summer league debut Friday night (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). Markelle Fultz will not be taking part in summer league, but Philly will showcase a pair of first-round picks in Zhaire Smith (No. 16) and Landry Shamet (No. 26), both of whom could factor into the team’s rotation this year.
The Celtics coaching staff has already used recent summer league battles between the two squads as a teaching point for the squad heading into this week.
“Summer league’s a great opportunity,” he said. “We showed a clip before the practice that two years ago when we played the Philadelphia 76ers in Utah, Terry Rozier and Jaylen Brown started for our summer league team and TJ McConnell and Ben Simmons started for theirs. And this year they were starting in the playoffs to go to the Eastern Conference Finals. So you’re not that far away from competing for a championship, but there are also guys in that game that are no longer in the NBA. So we really just want to emphasize taking advantage of this opportunity. And our coaching staff as well, taking advantage of the opportunity to work with the players and grow and work with them.”
Here’s a full look at the Celtics summer league schedule this week:
Friday 7/6 7:30 PM ET (ESPN): Celtics vs. 76ers
Saturday 7/7 11:00 PM ET (NBATV): Celtics vs. Nuggets
Monday 7/9 7:00 PM ET (ESPN2): Celtics vs. Hornets
The Celtics will also play at least two more games from 7/11-7/17 in the tournament portion of summer league. That bracket will be revealed on Tuesday 7/10.
Here is the full Celtics summer league roster
Celtics summer league roster is out. Robert Williams, Guerschon Yabusele, Semi Ojeleye, Jabari Bird and Kadeem Allen are all on the roster pic.twitter.com/h6JQ5H2O5h
— Brian Robb (@BrianTRobb) June 29, 2018