At 10-2 and second in the NBA G-League’s Eastern Conference, the Maine Celtics are doing a lot of things right as a development organization.
As winners of nine of their first ten games, Scott Morrison’s squad has emerged as one of the best spots a player with NBA ambitions could be.
And as it turns out, several NBA teams have taken notice amid a huge surge in COVID-19 cases that is decimating rosters and threatening to force cancellations to games. It feels like 2020-21 all over again in many ways, but the G-League being played outside a bubble this year makes it easier to pluck players off of a developmental roster and throw them into the NBA fire.
That has led to two Maine Celtics, Luke Kornet and Theo Pinson, finding landing spots during a dire situation for the league:
The Dallas Mavericks are planning to sign guard Theo Pinson of NBA G League's Maine Celtics via hardship, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 20, 2021
The Cleveland Cavaliers are planning to sign center Luke Kornet on a 10-day hardship exemption, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Kornet has played for NBA G League's Maine Celtics.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 19, 2021
The Maine Celtics are clearly doing something right in the NBA G-League
An organization from the Association’s health could be measured by not only what happens at the top, but also throughout the franchise’s hierarchy.
That Pinson and Kornet now have NBA roles again speaks well to both the Maine Celtics front office reeling in professional level talent capable of playing at the highest level, but also to how Morrison has gotten the most out of his team through the season’s first month and a half.
With so much baseless slander slung in the direction of the Boston Celtics franchise from the national media–remember, if you’re not in New York or Los Angeles ESPN’s talking heads probably aren’t watching your games anyway–this pair of signings is a reminder that this franchise runs a tight ship from top to bottom.