The Boston Celtics have waived Hayden Gray, per Keith Smith of Spotrac. Boston signed Gray to an Exhibit 10 contract following his stint playing for them at Summer League, paving the way for him to join the Maine Celtics in the G League for this season. Now, the Celtics have one spot open on their 21-man training camp roster.
Gray spent four years in college, the first two at Azusa Pacific and the final two at UC San Diego. In his final season, Gray led the nation in steals, averaging 3.1 steals per game. He joined the Celtics for Summer League but only appeared in two games.
He should see ample playing time under Phil Pressy this year.
Why did Celtics waive Hayden Gray?
It always seemed unlikely that Gray would crack the Celtics’ roster, whether it be on a two-way or with a standard deal. Maine was always going to be the landing spot.
Last year at UC San Diego, Gray appeared in 35 games, playing 32.1 minutes per contest. He averaged 11.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 3.1 steals while shooting 47.9% from the floor and 41.8% from deep on 4.8 three-point attempts.
Though he barely played for the Celtics in Vegas, when he did finally get regular minutes, he showed off exactly why he led the NCAA in steals last year.
In just over 20 minutes of action, Gray nabbed two steals to go along with his seven points, two rebounds, and two assists. He shot 3-of-4 from the field and 1-of-2 from deep.
What does this mean for Celtics?
The Celtics have been working to fill out their training camp roster for the last couple of weeks. Gray was brought on board right after Summer League, but the reporting always indicated that he would join Maine. That’s not the case with their latest additions.
Jalen Bridges and Kendall Brown, both of whom played Summer League with Boston, have signed Exhibit 10 contracts ahead of training camp and will reportedly compete for two-way spots.
All of Boston’s two-way spots are currently taken by three rookies: Amari Williams, Max Shulga, and RJ Luis. Jr. Williams and Shulga were both drafted by the Celtics in the second round, while Luis joined Boston via a trade with the Utah Jazz that saw him swapped for Georges Niang.
Now, with Gray off the training camp roster, Boston could potentially bring one more guy in ahead of the preseason.