CHARLESTON -- Hugo Gonzalez was all the rage at Summer League. Baylor Scheierman has seemingly been a standout during Boston Celtics training camp (and he's a guy I am personally very high on). Jordan Walsh earned a shiny new contract extension this summer. But he wasn't the only one to get paid.
Seemingly flying under the radar has been Ron Harper Jr. Emerging as a legitimate rotation piece by the end of last season, Harper signed a four-year contract with the Celtics this summer.
He began last year on a two-way deal and worked his way up to a standard contract by the end of the campaign. He even got the start in Boston's now-infamous Game 7 against the Philadelphia 76ers.
This summer, like many of his teammates, Harper stuck around Boston. He was constantly in the gym, striving to improve his play.
"He's in the same boat as the other guys. I think at the end of the day, he's a guy that's been consistent being in the gym, which is what you ask for," Joe Mazzulla said before practice on Monday morning. "Takes on his areas of growth that he wanted to get better at, and plays with a high level of competitiveness. It's not just him. We've got a bunch of guys who have committed their offseason to being in Boston, and he was one of them, and I think that's the environment that you want."
Though he didn't earn consistent minutes, Harper flashed his potential when he was on the court. Elite rebounding. Shooting and ball-handling upside. Defense good enough to lock down Kevin Durant in the Celtics' short-handed win on the road against the Houston Rockets.
There really aren't any holes in his game. He's a five-tool player: Shooting, handling, driving, defending, and rebounding. His challenge will be to excel in one or more of those areas to the point where it's hard to take him off the court.
He's already proven he belongs in the NBA. Harper can give the Celtics regular minutes on any given night.
"Well, Ron, I think he already showed that he's a really good player, and he's a really useful player," Gonzalez said. "He can help, he can handle, he can play really good defense, he can shoot the ball, and that's obviously why he got paid. He's a really good player, and he had a magnificent role last year. Made us win a lot of games last year, and he's just already proved that he's a real NBA player."
But if he can become an even better defender or an even more consistent shooter or a ball-handler Boston can run the offense through at times, that would be the best next step for him.
Harper sees the game at a high level and plays with an impressive motor. So, before Monday morning's practice at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, I chatted with him. He shared some insight into how he sees the game.