Celtics add yet another big man to camp roster
With Robert Williams no longer in the picture as a result of last Sunday’s trade for Jrue Holiday, Brad Stevens and the Celtics are searching high and low and stocking up on any and every big man the secondary market has to offer.
And on Tuesday, that led the club to former Oregon State standout Kylor Kelley.
A 7-footer who has seemingly played all over the world at this point, the 26-year-old Kelley will join the Celtics on an Exhibit 10 contract, according to Keith Smith. If the ‘Exhibit 10’ part of that sounds familiar, that’s because it’s the contrat that ex-Boston big man Tacko Fall signed when he first joined the Celtics way back in 2019.
Most recently, Kelley played with Raptors 905 of the G League, and averaged 7.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks in 15.3 minutes per game over a 21-game run with the club.
Prior to his time with Toronto’s G League squad, the Utah-born Kelley played for the Austin Spurs of the G League, the Bakken Bears (Denmark), and the London Lions (United Kingdom). Prior to his signing with the Celtics, Kelley had signed on with the Calgary Surge of the Canadian Elite Basketball League.
At Oregon State from 2018 through 2020, Kelley proved to be a dynamic defensive player for the Beavers, and was a two-time Pac-12 All-Defensive Team player. Kelley also began Oregon State’s all-time blocks leader during his second season with the program, and finished with 211 total blocks for the Beavers.
Celtics unveil 2023 training camp roster
After months of big-fish hunting (successful big-fish hunting at that), Brad Stevens and the Celtics have their initial roster that’ll take the court in pursuit of the team’s 18th NBA championship.
For the Celtics, who came up just one win shy of dancing in the NBA Finals for the second year in a row, the offseason tinkering began with the addition of Kristaps Porzingis and ended with Sunday’s trade for Jrue Holiday.
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The Celtics certainly had to part with some noteworthy assets — Marcus Smart, Malcolm Brogdon, and Robert Williams, as well as multiple first-round draft picks — to bring those talents to Boston. But if there’s anything to be learned from those moves, it’s that the Celtics are all about winning in the now. Especially in an East that’s reloaded with Dame Lillard’s move to Milwaukee, and with Miami still on the hunt for a big gun to team up with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.
But before the Celtics can begin their quest for a title, it all starts in training camp and preseason, and with the Celtics looking for some more bench pieces and longshots to emerge as legitimate options for Joe Mazzulla’s squad.
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Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter/X: @_TyAnderson.