The Celtics’ summer roster picture is still taking shape, and Milos Uzan is right in the middle of it.
The former Houston guard, who went undrafted in June, signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Boston a couple weeks ago and is pushing for a shot at the regular season roster. Uzan called the opportunity “a great opportunity,” and said he believes he fits what the Celtics need at point guard.
“ It’s a great opportunity,” Uzan said. “ I feel like I’m a pretty good point guard and that’s what [the Celtics] needed, especially on the summer league team as well.
I feel like I got a good shot and a good opportunity, and I’m just trying to make the most of it. [I want to show] I can guard, I can run a team, and I can make open shots, and when it’s time to make a big play down the stretch, I can do that as well.”
An Exhibit 10 deal is a non-guaranteed, minimum-salary contract that can be converted into a two-way deal before the regular season starts. If a player on that kind of contract gets waived and then spends at least 60 days with the team’s G League affiliate, he can earn a bonus of up to $91K.
Uzan’s Houston teammate, Chris Cenac Jr., also left a strong impression on Boston during summer league. The No. 27 overall pick didn’t shoot it efficiently, finishing with a .366/.273/.714 line in four games, but he still made his presence felt with 8.0 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game in 23.3 minutes.
“ He just continues to get better,” Uzan said of Cenac. “ I remember seeing him [last] June during summer work and just making little plays and doing too much, ill-advised shots sometimes.
I feel like just his growth throughout the year … I saw him make a play the other day where he caught it on a short [pick and roll] and hit the corner guy [with a pass]. I can see him get so much better, and he’s already a great rebounder.
And with Chris, he’s such a good listener that I think he’s going to continue to grow and get better.”
Another name to watch is Dillon Mitchell, who put together a strong summer league showing of his own. The second-rounder averaged 13.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.7 steals and 1.3 blocks in three games while logging 26.0 minutes per contest. He still hasn’t signed, and Washburn wonders whether he ultimately lands on a standard contract or a two-way deal.
Elsewhere, the Celtics’ climb in the East looks tougher after LeBron James signed with the Sixers. Washburn wrote that Philadelphia’s summer haul also included longtime Celtics star Jaylen Brown, along with Dean Wade and Anfernee Simons in free agency. With that group in place, Boston now looks like “no better than the third-best team” in its own division, trailing the defending champion Knicks and the Sixers.
In Other News...
Celtics May Have Finally Fixed Center With One Awkward Rival Twist
The Celtics spent the offseason looking for stability in the middle, and Mitchell Robinson could give them exactly that. After Boston won the NBA championship, the Knicks saw their center depth take a hit in free agency, then moved quickly to bring in Andre Drummond behind Karl-Anthony Towns. Robinsons arrival gives Boston a very different look at the position, one that comes with size, rim protection and a chance to reshape how the front line functions.
For Towns, the basketball fit is only part of the story. He and Robinson are close friends, and the idea of seeing him in a Celtics uniform adds an awkward layer to a matchup that already matters in the East. Robinson is also moving from a reserve role in New York to a starting job on a team with championship expectations, which is the kind of swing that can change how both sides are judged if this new setup works. [Read more 🡒]
Celtics Suddenly Have A Wing Worth Chasing If Brad Pays The Price
Bostons search for wing help has turned Cameron Johnson into a name worth monitoring, and for good reason. The Celtics have been looking for ways to add size and shooting on the perimeter, and Johnson fits the kind of two-way profile that tends to draw real interest when a contender starts sorting through its next move.
The problem is fitting him into the books, and that is where the conversation gets tricky. Boston cannot simply absorb his deal, so any path to a trade would likely require more moving parts and more outgoing salary, while the Nuggets are in no rush to make a decision and could always choose to revisit the idea later in the season. [Read more 🡒]