Boston Celtics: These Summer League Cs have best shot at being signed

After rolling into the NBA Summer League with no recent first-round picks on the roster and a schedule with all of the teams they faced during this past postseason run, the Boston Celtics closed out their slate as they started it — with a loss, albeit with three wins sandwiched between them to finish 3-2.

As Cs team reporter Taylor Snow, the 2022 NBA Draft’s No. 53 pick, JD Davison, set a Celtics Summer League record with 41 assists, with his 8.2 assists per game ranking third all-time league-wide behind Lonzo Ball (9.3) and Boston’s 2020 first-round pick Payton Pritchard (8.5). Mfiondu Kabengele earned the other two-way slot after averaging a shade under 15 points per game, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game. The 2019 late first-rounder aced his Summer League test and gave the team an easy free agent decision after spending the last season away from the league.

Elsewhere, the Game 2 buzzer-beating hero against the Milwaukee Bucks, Matt Ryan, averaged 19 points per game on 55% from the field and 52.6% from beyond the 3-point line. He injured his ankle and missed the final three games.

The 19-year-old Juhann Begarin shined as a Tasmanian Devil do-it-all wing and averaged 18 points. Justin Jackson had a nice stint after signing late and has several years of professional experience. Brodric Thomas shot as well from beyond the arc as Ryan did, and dished out 2.5 dimes a game while averaging over a swipe per contest. Purdue product Trevion Williams underperformed after coming into Summer League with significant hype.

Boston has three free agent spots remaining after using its two-way on Kabengele, so more Summer League Cs can stick. Which of the aforementioned bunch has a chance to sign on with the Boston Celtics?

Matt Ryan and/or Juhann Begarin are the likeliest Summer League Boston Celtics signings

The Houdini would put money on ultimate underdog Matt Ryan, who was a DoorDash ‘Dasher’ during the COVID-19 pandemic, to be the Summer League Celtic that gets signed to the preseason roster with, at minimum, a non-guaranteed contract. He was a vibes guy on a team that came within two games of knocking off an NBA dynasty in the form of the ‘Splash Bros’-Draymond Green Golden State Warriors core.

Juhann Begarin showed a lot of promise but is years away from being a contributor. With the Cs backcourt stacked with Marcus Smart, Malcolm Brogdon, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard, Begarin is better off staying a second-round stash overseas and coming over next season when one more from that group is likely off the roster. MassLive’s Brian Robb believes that it’s ‘definitely not guaranteed’ that all of the members of Boston backcourt will be back on the court in 2023-24. Or even the trade deadline.

Those two make the most sense adding to the rotation if any will be. Brodric Thomas is a longshot as someone with a similarly sweet long-ball, but he was a two-way player that the front office didn’t retain in that capacity.

There’s always the all-the-chips-to-the-middle-move Brad Stevens could make: convincing several unsigned win-now veterans to latch on with a title-contending team to fill out the roster in a more aggressive manner. The hope at that point would be that these guys could be retained in Maine.