Boston Celtics: Last Lakers roster spot could go to C’s Summer League hero
The Los Angeles Lakers look likely to sign away the feel-good story of the Boston Celtics’ 2022 Summer League run, Matt Ryan. L.A. head coach Darvin Ham says Ryan ‘may have gotten himself a job’ after the Lakers’ 124-121 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on October 9.
Ryan scored 20 points off the bench off of 6/9 3-point shooting, lifting the Lakers in the fourth quarter of a preseason win over the defending NBA Champion Golden State Warriors — dueling Jordan Poole in a bona fide shootout in the process.
The DoorDash and UberEats driver during the COVID-19 pandemic in his native White Plains rose to prominence in the G-League during the 2021-22 season, hitting the G-League’s second-most 3-pointers. He later hit a miraculous game-winner against the Milwaukee Bucks on July 11 during the NBA Summer League, one in which he injured his left ankle upon landing from the shot. Ryan had a team-high 23 points while knocking down 6/11 from the 3-point line in his final Boston Celtics appearance.
Now, it appears as though he’ll find a home with Boston’s primary historical rival for the 2022-23 season. Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report relayed that in addition to Wenyen Gabriel and Austin Reaves, Ryan will likely grab one of the last roster spots for the purple and gold:
The Lakers have 12 guaranteed, but two players seem relative locks to stick in Reaves/Gabriel. Then the last spot apparently will go to Matt Ryan. Nothing official, but seems like that's the momentum https://t.co/g5oPmstXAI
— Eric Pincus (@EricPincus) October 10, 2022
The Boston Celtics have a sharpshooter in Matt Ryan’s role already
While it’s tough to see the C’s unearthed gem, Matt Ryan, thrive elsewhere, especially a cesspool like Los Angeles, it’s an easier pill to swallow when one realizes Boston already has a sharpshooter in Ryan’s role.
That’d be Sam Hauser, who has shot 12/18 from the 3-point line so far in the 2022 NBA preseason. Hauser is on a guaranteed three-year, $6 million contract and seems poised to soak up any possible minutes Ryan would have played.