Getty A.J. Reeves #11 of the Providence Friars.
The Boston Celtics added two Massachusetts natives to their roster when they brought in Noah Vonleh and Jake Layman to their training camp. It appears they are not quite done adding Massachusetts natives to their roster, as they added A.J. Reeves, a Roxbury native, on an Exhibit-10 contract, according to Adam Zagoria.
Former @PCFriarsmbb G AJ Reeves has signed an Exhibit-10 with the Boston Celtics, per league source
AJ Reeves played college basketball for the Providence Friars from 2018 to 2022, where he averaged 9.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, and two assists while shooting 36.9 percent from the field and 31 percent from three, according to Sports-Reference.
While Reeves went undrafted, he went on to play for the Celtics’ 2022 Summer League team in Las Vegas. In the two games he played for the Celtics, Reeves averaged 4.5 points and 1.5 rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the field and 50 percent from three, according to NBA.com (Page Seven).
Evidently, Reeves left a strong enough impression during both college and the summer league for the Celtics to bring him onto the roster.
Celtics Waive Luka Samanic
Before it had been reported that Reeves was signing with the Celtics, The Athletic’s Jared Weiss reported that the Celtics were waiving former first-round pick Luka Samanic, although he is expected to join their G-League team in Maine.
The Celtics are waiving Luka Samanic, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA. Samanic is expected to join the Maine Celtics in the G League.
Samanic was drafted 19th overall by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2019 NBA Draft. In the two years he played for the Spurs, Samanic averaged 3.8 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 0.6 assists while shooting 43 percent from the field and 29.4 percent from three. After the Spurs waived him last season, Samanic signed with the New York Knicks on a two-way contract.
Samanic spent his entire tenure in New York with their G-League affiliate, the Westchester Knicks, where he averaged 27.9 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 3.3 assists while shooting 54.9 percent from the field and 41.5 percent from three, according to Basketball-Reference.
The Celtics are expected to make more cuts as the week goes on, with opening night coming up merely days from now. With 12 players on guaranteed contracts and Luke Kornet, whose contract is partially guaranteed, expected to make the final roster, the Celtics will have two roster spots for the taking. Although, it remains to be seen if they plan to go with a full roster when the 2022-23 season starts or if they’ll leave one open.
Noah Vonleh Has ‘Inside Track’ to Roster Spot
After Vonleh’s performance against the Charlotte Hornets, Weiss not only praised his performance but also relayed his belief that Vonleh has the inside track to getting one of the team’s last roster spots.
“(Vonleh) finally showed how his face-up game can be used in an offense that isn’t going to give him clear-outs in the high post. Vonleh had a few athletic finishes off the bounce and showed he can be aggressive to get to spots where he has leverage without turning the ball over.
“That gives him a distinct advantage over Mfiondu Kabengele in earning minutes at the five, especially given how Vonleh’s defensive intensity and positioning looked much better Friday. With Kabengele already on a two-way deal, Vonleh appears to have the inside track on the 14th roster spot.”
Out of all the training camp invitees that have not been cut – Vonleh, Layman, Brodric Thomas, Justin Jackson – Vonleh’s gotten the most extensive look out of all of them. With injuries ravaging the Celtics’ frontcourt before their first preseason game, they’re going to need all the help they can get from that department.
It makes sense that the Celtics have looked to see what Vonleh could do for them.