Charles Bassey, who played Summer League with the Boston Celtics, has signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Atlanta Hawks, meaning he won’t be back in green heading into the preseason. Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported the news on Wednesday evening. The 6-foot-10 center is still fighting to stay in the NBA.
Before joining forces with the Celtics in Las Vegas, on what was only a three-game contract, Bassey spent last season with the San Antonio Spurs. It was his third straight season in San Antonio after one year, his rookie year, with the Philadelphia 76ers. At just 24 years old, he still has plenty of room to grow.
And now, he’ll get his new opportunity with the Hawks.
Why didn’t Charles Bassey stay with the Celtics?
It’s unclear why Bassey didn’t stick in Boston. During his three-game stint with the guys in green in Vegas, he was extremely impressive, putting up great numbers on the glass, in particular.
Bassey played 21.3 minutes per contest across his three contests. He averaged 15.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting an elite 70.4% from the field. Alongside Derik Queen, Bassey led Summer League in rebounds per game.
This offseason, the Celtics lost Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, and Luke Kornet to the trade market in free agency. Neemias Queta is going to be trusted as the starting center, and behind him, Chris Boucher, Luka Garza, Xavier Tillman, and rookie two-way player Amari Williams will be helping out. There could have been a place for Bassey in town.
Noa Dalzell of CelticsBlog even reported that Bassey would have liked to sign a deal with the Celtics:
“Celtics Summer League standout center Charles Bassey is not planning on playing overseas next season, sources told CelticsBlog,” Dalzell wrote at the beginning of August. “Multiple outlets previously reported that he was seriously considering signing with the Serbian club Partizan Belgrade, but he currently plans to play in the NBA next season.
“Bassey would especially love to sign with the Celtics if the opportunity presented itself, sources said. How realistic that might be remains to be seen.”
Perhaps Bassey could have given the Celtics another young center to take a chance on, but instead, they decided to stick with Queta and Garza, in addition to Boucher, who will provide a veteran presence.
Tillman and Williams could sneak into the rotation at times, but the former three have a much better shot of playing real minutes.
It seems as though the Celtics have simply let Bassey walk away.