Jordan Walsh spent the offseason chasing a clearer offensive role, and the first day of Celtics training camp offered a look at how that work has started to take shape.
The 22-year-old wing said he wants to be more than a player opponents can ignore when Boston needs a basket. To get there, he has been grinding on his jumper and putting more emphasis on his ball-handling, with the goal of creating his own shot when the moment calls for it. On Tuesday at the Auerbach Center, Walsh said that part of his game is moving in the right direction, and Paul George is already helping speed it up.
When Boston landed the nine-time All-Star in the trade that sent Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers, Walsh reached out quickly. He saw an opportunity to learn from someone who could help sharpen parts of his offensive package, including a mid-range pull-up. The two have spent time working together in Los Angeles and Boston.
"He's taught me some things, put some things in my bag that I think is going to come in handy in moments this season," said Walsh on Tuesday.
That development matters because the path to minutes in Boston is crowded. Walsh is competing at the deepest spot on the roster, with Hugo Gonzalez, Baylor Scheierman, Sam Hauser, and Ron Harper Jr. all in the mix behind Jayson Tatum and Paul George. The Celtics will often use three wings together, but that still leaves a tight fight for floor time.
Walsh knows the offensive growth has to keep coming if he wants to carve out a bigger role after averaging 17.8 per contest last season. He shot 38.4 percent on 1.8 three-point attempts per game during his breakout year, and the next step is pairing that spacing with more comfort creating off the dribble.
For a Celtics offense built around movement, versatility, and players who can make decisions on the fly, that kind of expansion could make Walsh a much tougher piece to keep off the floor.
In Other News...
Celtics Suddenly Have A Low-Risk Shot At Former Top-10 Talent
Rob Dillinghams rapid slide has turned him into an intriguing free-agent possibility, and the Celtics are among the teams looking hard enough to notice. The former eighth overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft has already been waived by the Hornets after earlier stops with the Timberwolves and Bulls, a reminder of how quickly a promising young guard can get lost in the churn of roster moves.
Bostons interest makes sense as a low-risk swing on talent rather than a short-term fix. A two-way contract would give the Celtics a chance to bring in a former top-10 pick who is still available as an unrestricted free agent, with very little downside if the fit never develops and a meaningful upside if his game starts to stabilize. [Read more 🡒]
Brad Stevens Just Reopened A Painful Celtics Debate
Brad Stevens didnt exactly reopen an old wound by accident. In discussing the Celtics offensive issues in recent years, he put a spotlight back on a familiar concern around Boston: when the game slows down and the pressure rises, the offense has too often leaned too heavily on a limited set of solutions. Stevens said the team needs more versatile ways to score, and his comments inevitably echo back to some of the Celtics groups that included Jaylen Brown and still hit rough patches when possessions bogged down.
Joe Mazzulla has already acknowledged the need to shape the system around the current roster, and thats where the real tension sits now. Boston knows the talent is there, but talent alone does not settle the question of identity, especially when training camp is the place where habits are supposed to harden and roles are supposed to become clear. The Celtics are still searching for the version of their offense that can hold up when opponents take away the first option, and the conversation around how they get there is very much alive. [Read more 🡒]
Celtics Still Carry One Surprising 2026-27 Ceiling After Major Change
Bostons future outlook has a way of staying surprisingly upbeat even after a major roster shakeup. Stephen Noh of The Sporting News has the Celtics pegged for 54 wins and the top seed in the Eastern Conference for the 2026-27 season, a projection that comes with the obvious caveat of moving forward without Jaylen Brown and asking Jayson Tatum to return to All-NBA form after injury.
Paul George and Mitchell Robinson are also part of that optimistic equation, and their contributions would matter almost as much as Tatums health. It is a reminder that the Celtics ceiling still looks formidable on paper, but the whole forecast depends on key players being available and productive when it counts. [Read more 🡒]