The Celtics formally signed a rookie participant on Thursday who coach Joe Mazzulla hopes can observe an identical trajectory as a present participant on Boston’s roster.
The C’s signed Drew Peterson to a two-way contract. He’s an athletic wing who performed 5 school seasons – two at Rice earlier than transferring for 3 at Southern California – earlier than signing as an undrafted rookie free agent with the Miami Heat. He was a standout for the Heat’s summer season league group, which included a 13-point efficiency towards the Celtics that caught Boston’s eye.
The 6-foot-8 Peterson – who was a two-time All-Pac 12 choice at USC – performed in 13 video games for G-League Sioux Falls, the place he averaged 15.2 factors per sport, shot 40.7 % from 3-point vary and dished out 4.2 assists per sport earlier than he signed with the Celtics.
Mazzulla thinks Peterson can take an identical path to a participant like Sam Hauser, who was additionally undrafted in 2021 earlier than growing within the G-League and now turning into a key participant within the Celtics’ rotation in his third season.
“Just his ability to shoot, ability to think,” Mazzulla stated of what he likes about Peterson.. “You take a look at Sam and what he’s done. The more times you can put your guys into a specific role of what they can become over time, and you see it work into fruition, it’s kind of a formula that you have and can develop.”
The Celtics had room to signal Peterson to a two-way contract after they waived two-way massive man Nathan Knight earlier this week.
Leaning on Sam
One of the primary gadgets on Mazzulla’s to-do listing after final season was replenishing his teaching workers. His teaching bench was shorthanded after assistant Damon Stoudamire’s midseason departure, and a number of other different coaches left the workers. Mazzulla, coming into his second season, focused some expertise to assist him and added veteran coaches Charles Lee and Sam Cassell.
The restructuring has gone effectively up to now. Cassell, particularly, has been an amazing match as a result of he has a number of views between his enjoying and training profession that assist him relate with everybody on the roster.
“One of the gifts of having a guy like him and a gift in this league is experience,” Mazzulla stated. “He’s able to touch every seat on the bench. He’s been around some of the best coaches. He’s been a starting point guard. He’s been a role player. He’s been a third-string guy that gets in towards the end. So he’s literally seen everything you can possibly go through in the NBA, coaching and playing. So I think he’s more of a sounding board. One of his best gifts is, as much as he talks, he does like to listen as well. And one of his greatest gifts is listening to everybody and bringing that perspective. So he does a little bit of everything.”
Proud coach
Mazzulla was an assistant with the Celtics in 2019 when the group added Max Strus to their summer season league group. He instantly labored with the ahead as he signed a two-way contract with the C’s earlier than in the end being waived early that season.
Strus grew to become a thorn in Boston’s facet as he signed with the Heat and competed towards him in a number of Eastern Conference Finals. He signed with the Cavaliers this season, and scored 17 factors towards the Celtics on Tuesday. But Mazzulla nonetheless holds fond recollections of Strus from when he coached him, which included a go to for a softball sport at Fenway Park again in 2019.
I cherished him. He was superior. We performed softball at Fenway as soon as and I’ve by no means seen a man hit it so far as he did, he crushed it,” Mazzulla recalled earlier than Thursday’s rematch towards Strus and the Cavs. “It was one of the most impressive things I’ve ever seen.”
Four years later, he’s pleased with how Strus responded from being waived to carving out a task within the NBA.
“He just always got there early and just the intensity that he brought to every single workout, you could tell he was going to make it regardless of the situation that he was in just because of the mindset that he brought, and so really happy for him, really proud of him, and he just continues to work so I’m glad I had a chance to coach him,” Mazzulla stated.
Tip-ins
Jaylen Brown was listed as questionable by the Celtics for Thursday’s rematch because of a left ankle sprain he suffered in Tuesday’s win, however was cleared to play. Kristaps Porzingis was downgraded to possible on Thursday because of calf pressure tightness however was in the end cleared, too. Luke Kornet missed Thursday’s sport because of left adductor tightness. …
The NBA handed Warriors ahead Draymond Green an indefinite suspension on Wednesday after an unsportsmanlike act he dedicated towards the Suns’ Jusuf Nurkić on Tuesday, which implies he’ll possible miss subsequent Tuesday’s matchup towards the Celtics in Golden State.
Source: www.bostonherald.com