According to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe, the Boston Celtics have just signed Kenneth Lofton Jr. to their Summer League roster. Lofton, who is 22 years old and has 45 games of NBA experience under his belt, spent this past season playing for the Shanghai Dongfang Sharks of the CBA in China.
In 37 appearances for the club, Lofton played 31.5 minutes per contest. He averaged 24.4 points, 12.2 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 1.6 steals while shooting 52.5% from the field and 32.9% from deep on 4.0 three-point attempts per game.
Now, he’ll get a chance at finding a way back into the NBA during Summer League.
What could Kenneth Lofton Jr. bring to the Celtics?
It’s only been a few days of free agency, and the state of the Celtics' center position is already in a tough spot. Luke Kornet inked a deal with the San Antonio Spurs, and Al Horford seems poised to leave Boston as well.
They followed up the loss of Kornet by signing Luka Garza to a two-year contract, giving them a theoretical center rotation of Garza, Neemias Queta, Xavier Tillman, and rookie Amari Williams heading into next season.
Lofton is very undersized and fairly heavy for his height. In the NBA’s 2023-24 database, he was listed at 6-foot-6 and 275 lbs. However, in December of 2023, reports circulated that Lofton had lost 20 lbs in the span of a few weeks.
His size and stature have made it difficult for Lofton to hold up on defense at the NBA level, his size preventing him from holding up against bigs, and his weight hurting his ability to switch onto quicker players on the perimeter.
However, he’s an unbelievably talented player. He’s a great scorer, can move in the post, and is an underrated jump shooter, an impressive rebounder, and a solid playmaker for his position. The size just isn’t there.
For Summer League, Lofton will provide the Celtics with an intriguing player to keep tabs on as they look to iron out their roster for next year. His lack of size will be a tough barrier to get around, but at the very least, throwing him a Summer League contract is worth it.
At this point in time, the Celtics’ plans for next season are completely up in the air. Though Lofton’s size has held him back up to this point in his career, taking a chance on an awkward big man with impressive talent could be a perfectly fine idea for a Boston team with no real direction.
And if nothing else, having him on board for Summer League should make for a fun watch.