Who Will Win the 15th and Final Roster Spot?

Who will win the final roster spot on the Celtics?

The Gerald Green signing helped stabilize the Boston Celtics‘ poor three-point shooting. Although, at the same time, it causes the Celtics to make a very tough roster decision at the conclusion of training camp. With the Celtics only being able to trade away two of their eight draft picks, they knew they would have to make a couple of tough decisions when it came to their rookies.

Guerschon Yabusele and Ante Zizic have been stashed overseas and Jaylen Brown is guaranteed a roster spot since he’s a first round pick, although, this still leaves three rookies for the Celtics to decide on.

Demetrius Jackson was signed to a guaranteed contract and Ben Bentil was given a non-guaranteed deal with a training camp invite. Still, that leaves Abdel Nader‘s future undecided, who was arguably the most productive rookie during summer league.

There were reports on draft night that Nader agreed to be stashed in the D-League for his rookie season, but conflicting reports later came out saying that he never agreed to that. Now, Boston and Nader’s camp is trying to figure out his future with the team.

In the end, though, Boston has two more roster spots and six players biding for them – three previously mentioned players, R.J. Hunter, James Young and John Holland. Assuming that Jackson, who received a guaranteed deal, makes the roster, it leaves five players in hopes of landing the final spot on the 15-man roster. Either way, the other four will likely spend next season in Maine hoping to get put on the roster later in the year, or will try to find a spot on another team.

Still, being on the 15-man roster comes with the obvious perk of possibly suiting up and playing in the NBA. Also, they get paid significantly more than if they were to stay in the D-League.

R.J. Hunter is reportedly the favorite to land the final roster spot. Although, a strong camp from any of them could sway the Celtics’ opinion.

It makes sense that Jackson and Hunter are the favorites, though. Jackson was a projected first round pick and has the athleticism and scoring ability to make it in the NBA. He did have a shaky summer league, to put it nicely, and the Celtics do already have three point guards on the roster, but finding a first round talent in the mid-second round is rare.

It’d be hard to cut him from the roster knowing how many viewed him leading up to the draft and without Jackson being able to prove himself.

R.J. Hunter also holds a lot of intrigue. He was the team’s first round pick last year, making an inconsistent rookie campaign a little early to give up on him. Besides, Hunter shot an impressive 47.2 percent from three during summer league and showed great range. It’s not to say that Hunter will have any sort of bench role, however, how could the Celtics give up on last year’s first round pick after giving James Young so many chances?

It’s not easy to give up on a 20-year-old whose athleticism is off the charts, but keeping Young on the 15-man roster to stash in the D-League again seems pointless. In summer league, he needed to prove he could take over games, or at least show significant improvement, and he didn’t.

In fact, other than his 43.4 three-point percentage, Young had close to no impact on the game. He shot 32.8 percent from the field, didn’t rebound and wasn’t a great defender. Not to mention that Young thrived on catch-and-shoot scenarios but struggled when needing to create shots for himself.

Sure, 20-years-old is young, but he has shown nothing to suggest he will have any sort of role in the NBA. His shooting percentages in the D-League even dropped to 40.9 percent from the field and 35 percent from three in his second season. Not to mention that he’s a career 25 percent three-point shooter in the NBA.

If you put his young age aside, there’s very little that Young has shown that would suggest he’s capable of becoming a decent NBA player, especially when considering there are three draft picks from the past two years in contention for the final roster spot.

Ben Bentil didn’t get a chance to showcase his skills in summer league as he only saw 10.4 minutes per game. That makes getting any sort of contract heading into training camp that much more impressive.

With Kelly Olynyk and Jonas Jerebko both free agents next offseason, and Jared Sullinger now in Toronto, Bentil has a chance to be the Celtics future stretch-four, or a big body who is effective on the glass. With that being said, with Tyler Zeller returning, the front court has gotten that much more crowded. Unless a major injury happens there won’t be any minutes for Bentil as a rookie, meaning he’d likely spend his rookie season in Maine anyway.

Abdel Nader is arguably the most intriguing prospect in this group. He showcased his two-way ability in summer league, and a strong training camp might force the Celtics’ hand to add him to the NBA roster. Still, being the 58th pick in the draft usually indicates at least a little time in the D-League. Although, like previously noted, it’ll be hard to turn him down if he puts together a strong camp.

When it comes down to it, John Holland was a strange signing at the end of last season. His contract isn’t guaranteed and he only played one minute – missing his only shot attempt – last season for Boston. Not to mention that his non-guaranteed deal makes him extremely expendable.

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Prior to camp, I’m expecting Nader and the Celtics to agree to keep him in Maine for a season. This will give the Celtics a chance to either make a move this season, or next summer, and give Nader a better chance of making the roster next season. He was extremely impressive in summer league, but this was the Celtics original plan for the 58th pick and they’ll likely try to stick to it.

With a crowded front court, and Bentil being a second round pick, there’s little doubt that Boston just wants to get a better look at him in training camp. With Hunter being last year’s first round pick and the potential to help a poor three-point shooting team this season, Bentil will likely end up in Maine.

In the end, it’d be shocking to see any other combo than Demetrius Jackson and R.J. Hunter rounding out the roster. Both hold a lot of potential and their three-point shooting could help the Celtics this season. However, there is a chance that this could be Hunter’s last NBA chance with the Celtics.

Training camp will be the final chance for these players to prove why they should be on the roster. Although, this likely won’t be their last chance with Boston as developing in Maine and putting together a strong summer league next year could land them a roster spot. Boston just has too many young players, and it will take time to figure out their future plan with each.

Next: How Gerald Green Impacts the Young Guards

At least the Maine Red Claws should be looking at a very good season.