Where Will Abdel Nader End Up This Season?

Abdel Nader turned heads with an excellent Summer League showing. Will the Celtics be able to retain his rights heading into 2016-17?

When the Boston Celtics nearly made Iowa State small forward Abdel Nader the Mr. Irrelevant of the 2016 NBA Draft by selecting him with the 58th pick, few anticipated that the Egyptian-American would become more than a surefire D-League stash this upcoming season.

This tune continued over the course of the first two games of the Utah Summer League in early July. Nader played a combined just 20 minutes through the Celtics’ pair of victories to begin the summer league slate. His numbers were considerably unimpressive as well, as he shot a troublesome 3-of-9 from the field and 1-of-4 from three-point range while racking up just nine points.

However, Nader would proceed to reach double-digits in scoring in his last five summer league appearances, witnessing his value skyrocket. His minutes both early on and in crunch-time situations in contests ballooned, as he played over 20 minutes in three of the final four summer league games. He busted onto the scene with 12 points and three rebounds on 4-of-8 shooting in a loss to the Chicago Bulls on July 9 before improving his points tally to 13 on 6-for-13 shooting to accompany six rebounds the following night in a defeat at the hands of the Phoenix Suns.

Nader’s emergence in the final game of the summer campaign came in a 90-75 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, continuing the recurring theme of him breaking out in losses. However, his averages of 10 points and 2.8 rebounds in just 16.4 minutes per game were undeniably representative of someone who deserves a spot in an NBA training camp, as was his impressive 49 percent field goal percentage.

Nader and his agent, Cervando Tejeda, were cognizant of that notion as well. Tejeda stressed following the conclusion of summer league that he believed that his client was an NBA-caliber talent, inferring that he would rather not swallow a demotion to the Maine Red Claws to begin the 2016-17 campaign. Unfortunately for the pair, they may not have a choice.

In order to retain Nader’s draft rights, the Celtics must offer him a one-year tender at the rookie minimum by September 6. While the D-League might be the most likely destination for the 6-6, 198-pounder should he sign this tender, the alternative is less than ideal.

If the Celtics do decide to demote Nader to Maine following training camp, he would essentially become a free agent within the D-League. While he would be performing with other Celtics prospects with the Red Claws, he would be free to sign with any team.

If Nader decides to reject the Celtics one-year offer, the team would still possess his rights, making it so he would be unable to play for another NBA team unless Boston decided to cut or trade him. Unless Tejeda is able to negotiate a clause in which Nader can be released into the free agent market prior to Celtics training camp, expect to see Nader in team workout clothes come September once practices commence.

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The troubling factor for Nader is that the Celtics have already negotiated 16 guaranteed contracts for the upcoming season, making him the odd man out once the season begins. However, if an injury comes along to the likes of Jae Crowder, Jaylen Brown or Gerald Green, his production in summer league proved that he can be of use in Brad Stevens‘ style of play.