Celtics Summer League Debrief
With the door officially closed on the 2022 NBA Summer League, the Boston Celtics countdown to meaningful basketball begins. Both two-way contracts this season have been given out, and with the Celtics in win-now mode, it may take some time to see some of these standouts in action with Udoka and company. Juhann Begarin was third in scoring for the entire Summer League this season for players that participated in all five contests in July. JD Davison showed plenty of promise, especially against the Grizzlies in the third game, scoring a game-high 28 points, demonstrating his ability to get out in transition against fringe NBA talent.
Along with Davison, former Clippers forward Mfiondu Kabengele played well enough on the interior to earn a two-way contract with Boston next season. The 2019 ACC Sixth Man of the Year averaged 14.8 points along with 8.2 rebounds in five games with the Celtics and looked to take from his experience last season as a G-League champion with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. And although most of these players in the summer league will not get their shot at finding a way to be a significant contributor to the Celtics' rotation, there was a lot to like from players that Boston fans are not too familiar with.
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The 25-year-old wing, Matt Ryan, may have tweaked his ankle against the Bucks, but his shooting efficiency was incredibly impressive despite the small sample size. While Boston did not sign Ryan to a two-way contract, he could find his way on another G-League team or even on an NBA roster, given the promise he showed in the bright lights of the Summer League.
During an interview during the first summer league game, Udoka was asked what he was looking for out of his guys, stating, "Just progress...We’ve seen some of these guys over the last year, and we want to see what they’ve done with the last year. A guy like Juhann, who’s been overseas, we want to see the growth in him from last year to this year. That’s the main thing you want to see — how they fit into what we do well. A guy like Sam Hauser. They’re playing a different position here, and we want to see how they can acclimate to that. Some things translate, some don’t as far as the scoring and all of that, but we want to see how they fit in with the big scheme of what we’re doing."
Boston has three roster spots left due to the mass exodus of players in the Malcolm Brogdon trade with the Pacers. Ryan may have rolled his ankle in the second summer league game, but he may have done enough to intrigue the Celtics into offering him a roster spot. At least one or two contributors during the summer will find a way into the roster next season. Whether it is Justin Jackson, Ryan, or even Brodric Thomas, the opportunities to be a part of something special next season in Boston are there.
Last season, Ryan was on a two-way contract with the Boston Celtics on February 28, and despite some flashes of offensive talent, Kabengele was the guy Stevens wanted to take a chance on. With Al Horford's contract up at the end of the season and his age becoming more and more of an issue, signing a guy like Kabengele to a contract that lets him develop into a potentially quality role player while getting some time with Udoka and the Celtics makes sense. From catching lobs in the halfcourt to fighting inside for an offensive rebound, Kabengele still has a whole lot of upside at 24 and as a first-round pick back in 2019.
Ryan seemed like he deserved a shot in Maine again to evolve his defense while adding to his offensive arsenal. Despite not receiving that coveted last two-way contract, Ryan still has a chance at a guaranteed contract like Sam Hauser earned this offseason. Sometimes G-League success does not turn into real valuable success in the NBA game, but Ryan looked like he had a quick release of his shot and only needed help on his one-on-one defense for him to become a legitimate role player for any NBA team.
Other than the emergence of Kabengele in Las Vegas, the French wing, Begarin demonstrated why there even is a summer league in the first place. With Begarin playing overseas during the season with Paris Basketball, Boston does not get to see the growth firsthand of one of its former second-round picks. Instead, the summer league gave Bergain the chance to show the coaching staff that there is growth, and in just five games, the organization left knowing that the 19-year-old got a lot better, improving many aspects of his game.
His athleticism is evident, but Bergain developed a much-improved jump shot, moving his field goal percentage from under 39.5 percent last summer to nearly 43 percent in five games in this year's summer league. From 21.4 percent from behind the arc to 33.3 percent from downtown, Bergain demonstrated what yet another year overseas could do for his development. The goal should be to have the French wing head back to Paris for another year, maybe even two, and play in the summer league in 2024.
There are still plenty of areas in his game that could improve due to his youth at just 19. If he wants to try his luck in the G-League next season and sign a two-way contract, that could be an option, it just becomes Boston's issue if it even has the space in its roster to let him develop. Bergain raised some eyebrows in his second stint in the NBA summer league, and with the Celtics roster going into complete win-now mode, players like Bergain could be the odd man out.
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Davison was the name that almost every Celtic fan was watching in the summer as he was the franchise's lone draft pick this season. The Alabama guard had a rollercoaster of a summer league, starting off struggling to knock down shots, but in the end, Davison demonstrated why Boston selected him. He finished with back-to-back double-doubles, including his 28-point, 10-assist performance against the Grizzlies, where he shot 4-for-6 from beyond the arc. With his unmatched dynamism in the open floor and his ability to find open teammates, it will be interesting if Udoka gives him a shot in the preseason to prove his value to the team.
While summer league is a chance for NBA fans to watch some basketball after a few weeks without it, it is an opportunity for the next generation to take the next step. Boston has plenty of players that, while they did not make the All-Summer League teams, could help any NBA franchise down the road. Davison is a project that will only evolve during his time with the Maine Celtics this season, while Kabengele is a big that Stevens feels confident to gamble on. Given where the Celtics roster is at the moment, the pathway for the youth during the next few seasons will receive a roadblock. However, it will not prevent the growth of some of these young talented individuals, and while Boston may be in win-now mode, other teams could be vying to use some of the Celtics' youth on a non-contending team.
