Getty R.J. Hunter
Former Boston Celtics first-round draft pick R.J. Hunter has not appeared in an NBA game since 2019, but he’s giving his NBA career another shot. On August 5, Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes reported via Twitter that Hunter had reached an agreement with the Charlotte Hornets.
Free agent guard R.J. Hunter has reached an agreement with the Charlotte Hornets, his agent Daniel Hazan of @hazansportsmgmt tells @NBAonTNT, @BleacherReport.
Terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but given that Hunter has not played in the league for quite some time, the Hornets have given him a training camp deal at the very least.
Hunter was drafted No. 28 in the 2015 NBA Draft, where he would spend the 2015-16 season with the team, but was later cut before the start of the 2016-17 season. Hunter briefly returned to the team on a two-way contract during the 2018-19 season. Hunter appeared in the team’s very last game of the season on April 9, 2019, against the Washington Wizards, where he scored 17 points.
Since then, Hunter has bounced around with multiple teams overseas. Should Hunter make the final roster, he would be joining former Celtics Gordon Hayward and Terry Rozier.
Svi Mykhailiuk May Not Get Guaranteed Contract From Celtics
Following the report that the Celtics had offered a contract to Svi Mykhailiuk, MassLive’s Brian Robb gave more insight into the possibility of adding the five-year NBA veteran to the team.
“Mykhailiuk would be a solid option for deep bench depth given his track record, but I doubt the team would fully guarantee that contract until he makes the team,” Robb wrote on August 4.
Mykhailiuk is coming off a season in which he averaged 6.9 points while shooting 44.5% from the field and 42.4% from three in 32 games combined with the New York Knicks and Hornets. While his NBA career has stayed alive since being drafted in 2018, he has not found a team that he has stuck with.
The Celtics have two full-time roster spots available for the 2023-24 season. Mykhailiuk could very well take one of those spots, but as Robb alluded to, he may not get a fully guaranteed contract. Dalano Banton and Luke Kornet don’t have fully guaranteed deals with the team, either.
Blake Griffin’s Return to Celtics Not Ruled Out: Report
On August 3, CLNS Media’s Bobby Manning reported that the possibility of Blake Griffin returning to the Celtics is not out of the question.
“I’ve heard the door remains open for his return despite the distance from family and his home on the west coast. Given that he mulled his options until October last year, it’s worth assuming he’ll follow a similarly deliberative process this summer.”
Manning added that Griffin could be an inexpensive addition because of his status as an NBA veteran.
“His veteran status allows the team to sign him for a second-year salary on the cap sheet — $2 million this year — actually less than (Justin) Champagnie would’ve made. Any other veteran with over 10 years of NBA experience would qualify for the same cap discount.”
Griffin would give the Celtics some frontcourt depth behind Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, and Robert Williams III. The Celtics depended on Griffin when one of their bigs was out with injury or resting. With Porzingis on the team, he may not get as many opportunities to start, but with Grant Williams off the team, he may get more opportunities to be in the rotation.