Celtics fans will love latest intel on team's second-round pick

The Boston Celtics selected Max Shulga with the third-to-last pick in this year's NBA Draft [57th overall]. The expectation is that he will join the team on a two-way deal.

There is a lot to like about what the former Virginia Commonwealth University [VCU] star showcased at Summer League.

The six-foot-four guard is a defensive pest. He'll hound opposing ball handlers, picking them up full court. He lives in their jersey. Even screens tend to create minimal breathing room.

At the offensive end of the floor, Shulga took on more playmaking duties as a lead guard at VCU. The benefits of that have been on display in Las Vegas.

The Kyiv, Ukraine, native did a stellar job taking care of the ball. In five games in Sin City, he only averaged 0.6 turnovers. Shulga effectively got the Celtics into their offense and smoothly orchestrated the pick-and-roll.

After Boston's Summer League finale, a 101-80 victory vs. the Atlanta Hawks, assistant coach Matt Reynolds, the team's bench boss in Sin City, shared with Hardwood Houdini what he wants Shulga to focus on between now and training camp.

"I think he's going to have a mixed bag of offensive responsibility as a primary or secondary playmaker," voiced Reynolds. "I think he had a pretty good, consistent floor game creating for others.

"I think most of the shots he took, I love, and I expect him to make at a higher frequency going forward. But I think in a general sense, it was a really good start for him, and we're pretty excited to have him."

Max Shulga is the yin to Hugo Gonzalez's yang

Shulga spent years developing his game in Spain before joining the NCAA ranks. That has helped him build chemistry with the Celtics' first-round pick, Hugo Gonzalez.

The latter even relayed before Thursday's tilt against the Los Angeles Lakers that they were planning on making calls in Spanish during the matchup.

While this author can't confirm they did so, Jordan Walsh told Hardwood Houdini that if they did, he was unaware. Walsh quipped that he would've just run to the corner if he heard them calling out plays in Spanish.

Beyond being able to communicate in Gonzalez's native language, there's a fire-and-ice dynamic to the two rookies.

Gonzalez gets animated on the court. He made significant strides in moving on to the next play without an emotional outburst preceding it. However, as teammate Aaron Scott noted, one can hear the Madrid native talking to himself in Spanish when he gets angry about a mistake he made.

Shulga is stoic. Regardless of what just unfolded on the floor, he's calm and maintains a straight face.

"He's the guy that is more cool-minded on the team, for sure," laughed Gonzalez while discussing Shulga's reserved nature earlier this week in Las Vegas.

Considering Gonzalez's improvement in adapting a next-play mentality, perhaps Shulga's approach is rubbing off on his teammate.