For the Celtics and their front office, the early weeks of July, when Summer League takes place, are typically among the busiest of the year. It’s a crucial period for evaluating young talent that might eventually contribute to the main roster, meeting with players and agents, and making every effort to strengthen the team.
This year, however, is different.
The Celtics have nearly wrapped up all of their their offseason tasks. After signing JD Davison to a two-way deal on Monday, Boston has just one two-way spot and one standard roster spot left to fill.
All signs indicate that the final two-way spot will go to second-round draft pick Anton Watson. As for the final standard spot, history suggests Boston might leave it open, unless someone like Oshae Brissett, after testing free agency, decides to return to the mix on a minimum deal.
Other than that, Boston’s roster is in place, and it’s essentially the same exact team that raised the Larry O’Brien on the confetti-covered TD Garden parquet last month. Continuity that Brad Stevens hinted at during his postseason/pre-draft press conference.
“I don’t anticipate any major changes,” Stevens said. “I think this team deserves that.”
He wasn’t kidding. Including two-way players, 15 of the 17 players who were in Boston after last season's trade deadline will be returning. This remarkable continuity is a rarity for recent title winners, considering the 2019 Toronto Raptors, 2020 Los Angeles Lakers, 2021 Milwaukee Bucks, 2022 Warriors, and 2023 Denver Nuggets all lost at least one major contributor following their championship season.
A few of the returning players signed for the veteran’s minimum, a very team-friendly figure for an organization far above the second apron.
“We’re extremely grateful,” Assistant General Manager Austin Ainge said on free agency. “We had some guys turn down more money [from] other places to come back. It just feels really good – guys that we care about a lot to come back and try to go for another run.”
So now what? Well, for starters, Summer League will be a lot less taxing for the front office.
“We’ve got almost everybody signed already, so I can just enjoy Summer League,” Ainge laughed. “I’m not running around with a million agent meetings and things. That’s the biggest advantage – we’ve got a really good team, so we’re just running it back.”
As for Celtics fans, savor the summer knowing that the team, which dominated with a 64-18 regular-season record and a 16-3 postseason run while outscoring opponents by +1,083 points across their 101 games, will reunite in the fall with a strong chance to defend their championship.
What to know about Summer League 2024
Although the Celtics’ offseason work is mainly completed, the NBA clock never stops, and the Celtics will take their first baby steps in defending their championship in Summer League action later this week.
On Monday, Boston announced its official roster.
Like the big league club, the Summer Celtics enjoy impressive continuity, with JD Davison, Neemias Queta, Jordan Walsh, Jaden Springer, and Drew Peterson returning from last season.
“It’s great,” Summer League head coach D.J. MacLeay said on the continuity. “It’s a unique situation where we do have a lot of rostered players, and because of that, we have an opportunity to build off of something that we just recently ended.”
MacLeay, a four-year player at Bucknell, started his NBA journey as a video coaching assistant with the Philadelphia 76ers in May 2017. He progressed to video coordinator before joining Ime Udoka’s staff in 2021 as a Player Enhancement Coach, ultimately being promoted to assistant coach in 2022. The 29-year-old is thrilled about the opportunity.
“I’m stoked, like to be the head coach of the summer league team of the Boston Celtics, like, what an honor, what a joy, I’m so grateful,” the Texas native said.
Summer League will give Celtics fans their first look at rookies Baylor Scheierman and Anton Watson. Scheierman, whom the Celtics selected 30th overall out of Creighton, is a 6-foot-6, 201-pound wing that can do a little bit of everything. In fact, he is the only men’s player in Division I history with at least 2,000 points (2,233), 1,000 rebounds (1,256), 500 assists (580), and 300 three-pointers (356).
Watson, whom the Celtics selected with the 54th pick, is a 6-foot-8, 225-pound forward and highly versatile defender. Over his five seasons at Gonzaga, Watson posted a career defensive rating of 94.5. This past season, he also ranked in the top five in the West Coast Conference in defensive box plus/minus.
Other non-roster additions include Tristan Enaruna, Ron Harper Jr., Tyler Cook (who played alongside Jayson Tatum in high school), Jaelen House (son of former Celtic Eddie House), Jahmi’us Ramsey, and Killian Tillie.
The Summer Celtics will play their first game against the Heat this Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBATV. The full schedule is available here.
Mazzulla’s message
Throughout his collegiate career, Baylor Scheierman knocked down 39.0% of his three-point attempts, including 43.8% on 5.7 attempts per game in his sophomore season and 46.9% on 5.1 attempts in his junior season.
In his final season at Creighton, he shot 38.1% from distance on 8.3 attempts per game. He also led the Creighton in rebounds with (9.0) per game.
He is a wing who can knock down threes, rebound, and play defense—qualities that resonate with Joe Mazzulla. In a recent interaction, Mazzulla encouraged him to do just that.
Scheierman shared, “I talked to him [Mazzulla] a little bit in the locker room, and he’s like, ‘Hey, man, shoot threes, play D, and rebound.’ I was like, ‘Sounds good.’ I’m excited to play for him. He’s a tremendous person and coach, and I’m eager to learn from him.”
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