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It turns out Dennis Schroder won’t be the only former Boston Celtics player to make the Los Angeles Lakers roster. After signing Matt Ryan, who was on a two-way contract with the Celtics last season, to a non-guaranteed contract, the Lakers have ultimately decided to give him one of their last roster spots for their opening night of the 2022-23 season.
Ryan evidently left a strong impression on the Lakers during the preseason. Particularly in one game against the Golden State Warriors in which Ryan hit six three-pointers.
By making the Lakers’ final roster, Ryan continues his steady climb into the NBA. Ryan’s story is nothing short of inspirational, as he was once working as a DoorDash driver to make ends meet before he started his pursuit as an NBA player.
Ryan joins the very select few number of players who will have played for both the Celtics and Lakers. Not only do the Lakers have two former Celtics with Schroder and Ryan, but the Lakers also have Thomas Bryant, who the Celtics courted during the 2022 offseason.
Matt Ryan’s Summer League Performance
Ryan only played one game for the Celtics during the 2021-22 season, and it was their regular season finale against the Memphis Grizzlies. In that game, Ryan recorded only one basket: a three-pointer in a blowout victory.
While Ryan may not have played much for the team last season, the Celtics felt strongly enough about Ryan to add him to their 2022 Summer League roster. In the two games Ryan played for the Celtics during the 2022 Las Vegas Summer League, Ryan averaged 19 points while shooting 55 percent from the field and 52.6 percent from three in 22.9 minutes a game, according to NBA.com.
The highlight of Ryan’s Summer League performance came when he hit a buzzer-beater over the Milwaukee Bucks. Sadly the moment got a little spoiled when Ryan sprained his ankle in the process.
While the Celtics may have elected not to keep Ryan, the Lakers clearly saw something in Ryan to warrant giving him a training camp deal, which has now earned him a spot on their roster.
The Celtics’ Final Cuts
With two roster spots left and three players vying for them – Noah Vonleh, Jake Layman, Justin Jackson – the Celtics had some decisions to make with preseason wrapping up on October 14.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Vonleh has made the cut for the Celtics’ opening night roster.
With Vonleh onboard, the Celtics’ frontcourt consists of him, Al Horford, Robert Williams III, Grant Williams, Blake Griffin, Luke Kornet, and Mfiondu Kabengele, who is on a two-way contract.
CelticsBlog’s Keith Smith then reported that the Celtics were waiving Layman.
So what remained was whether the Celtics would keep Jackson around or not for their final roster spot. Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe ended the speculation when he reported that the Celtics have elected to give the final roster spot to Jackson.
With Vonleh and Jackson making the final cut, the Celtics have a full roster for opening night when they face the Philadelphia 76ers on October 18.
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