Celtics sign Kaiser Gates to training camp contract
Sep 24, 2018; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Kaiser Gates (21) poses for a photo during Chicago Bulls media day at The Advocate Center. (Patrick Gorski/USA TODAY Sports)
By Ty Anderson, 985TheSportsHub.com
The Celtics have officially created competition for the final spot on their roster, as the team has signed forward Kaiser Gates to a training camp contract, The Boston Celtics are signing former Xavier forward Kaiser Gates to a training camp contract to compete for the 15th roster spot along with Tacko Fall and others, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
A 6-foot-8 wing, Gates most recently played for the Clippers in the 2019 Summer League, where he averaged 8.2 points on 33 percent shooting and hauled in 4.6 rebounds per game in five contests (averaging 25 minutes per night). An undrafted talent out of Xavier, Gates played for the Windy City Bulls of the NBA G League prior to that five-game run with Los Angeles, with 12.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per night in 50 appearances with the Bulls.
Gates’ competition for a Boston gig will come in the form of 7-foot-6 center (and fan favorite) Tacko Fall, as well as 2019 second-round pick Tremont Waters and 23-year-old undrafted free agent Max Strus.
Fall, who played for Boston in the 2019 Summer League, remains with the Celtics on an exhibit 10 contract, which would allow the Celtics to waive him and send him to the G League’s Maine Red Claws if unclaimed, while both Waters and Strus are entering training camp with the hopes of turning their two-way deals into guaranteed contracts.
And while the Celtics have committed themselves to an idea of positionless basketball, it probably doesn’t help Gates that the C’s already have about a billion wings on their roster, and with many of them set to play big roles in 2019-20.
With Gates in the fold, the Celtics currently have 19 players signed to their training camp roster.
