Getty Noah Vonleh #24 of the Boston Celtics.
The Boston Celtics opening night roster has officially been set. With three players left – Noah Vonleh, Jake Layman, Justin Jackson – and two roster spots available, the Celtics had to decide who should stay and who should go. On October 15, the Celtics made their final decisions on all three.
First came Noah Vonleh when ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Vonleh had made the roster.
Forward/center Noah Vonleh has made the Boston Celtics opening night roster, sources tell ESPN. Vonleh capped his preseason with a 14 point, 13-rebound game vs. Charlotte. A former lottery pick, he played last season in China.
Celtics fans praised Vonleh, relaying that he deserved a spot on the team.
Others made it clear how happy they were that Vonleh made the team because of his Massachusetts roots.
Other Celtics fans pointed out that Vonleh making the roster seemed obvious after the preseason performance that he had.
As the fans and Wojnarowski pointed out, Vonleh’s breakout performance came on October 7 against the Charlotte Hornets, where he put up 14 points and 13 rebounds.
The Celtics will be the first NBA team Vonleh has played for since he briefly played for the Brooklyn Nets during the 2020-21 season.
Fans React to Jake Layman Being Waived
After Wojnarowski reported that Vonleh had been waived, CelticsBlog’s Keith Smith reported that Layman had been waived by the team.
The Boston Celtics have waived Jake Layman, a league source tells @celticsblog and @spotrac.
Fans were not all too shocked to see Layman get the axe because they were not impressed with his performance.
@KeithSmithNBA @celticsblog @spotrac Good he’s not good enough
Other fans had suspected that Layman being waived meant the Celtics were planning to bring in Derrick Favors, who the Houston Rockets had waived on October 14.
With Vonleh on the opening night roster, the Celtics’ frontcourt consists of him, Al Horford, Grant Williams, Blake Griffin, Luke Kornet, and Mfiondu Kabengele. Robert Williams III will also be in the rotation when he comes back following his arthroscopic knee surgery. With all of those players in the frontcourt, it’s not likely the Celtics will add a player like Favors.
Others also wondered what that meant for Justin Jackson’s future with the team. At the time, Jackson’s future was up in the air.
Layman did not play in the Celtics’ preseason finale against the Toronto Raptors, which may have been a strong hint that he was not long for the Celtics’ roster.
Fans React to Justin Jackson Getting Last Spot
After Vonleh had been confirmed to have made the team and Layman had been waived, all that remained was whether Jackson would make the team. With Vonleh on the roster, the Celtics could have left a roster spot open going into the season.
Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe confirmed that would not be the case, as he reported that Jackson would, in fact, take the team’s 15th roster spot for opening night.
According to a league source, veteran wing Justin Jackson will fill the Celtics’ final regular roster spot.
Some fans were nonchalant about Jackson making the roster since, as the 15th man, he is slated not to play much.
Others felt the better choice would have been to keep the roster spot open for another veteran should one become available in the near future.
Tom Westerholm of Boston.com praised Jackson for betting on himself and succeeding well enough to make the team.
Honestly, shouts to Justin Jackson. Pretty admirable for a veteran to bet on himself, play in Summer League and impress enough to grab a roster spot.
Even though both Vonleh and Jackson have made the opening night roster, time will tell if they will be on the Celtics all season long.