Jeff Roberson

Celtics Waive Nick King, Jeff Roberson

The Celtics have waived Nick King and Jeff Roberson, according to the team’s Twitter feed. The pair of forwards had agreed to Exhibit 10 deals with Boston earlier last month.

King went undrafted out of Middle Tennessee State and spent Summer League playing for the Lakers. Roberson also went undrafted and saw limited action for the Warriors’ summer league squad. Both players are expected to play for the Celtics’ G League team, the Maine Red Claws.

Boston now has 18 players under contract, including its pair of players on two-way deals. The team will need to make one more move before the season begins, as the maximum roster count is 17.

The decision on Boston’s final roster spot may come down to Jabari Bird, who has a guaranteed salary but is dealing with legal issues, vs. Marcus Georges-Hunt, who is on a non-guaranteed deal.

Celtics Sign Bibbs, King, Roberson To Training Camp Deals

The Celtics have signed three players to training camp contracts, tweets Keith Smith of RealGM.com. The new additions are Justin Bibbs, Nick King and Jeff Roberson, all of whom agreed to Exhibit 10 deals. All three are rookies who weren’t selected in June’s draft.

A 6’5″ guard from Virginia Tech, Bibbs played for the Celtics’ entry in the Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 5.0 points in six games. King, a 6’7″ forward out of Middle Tennessee State, was with the Lakers this summer and played 10 games in the Las Vegas and Sacramento leagues, averaging 8.6 PPG and 4.7 RPG. Roberson, a 6’6″ forward from Vanderbilt, saw limited action with the Warriors’ Summer League team and posted 1.6 PPG in five games in Las Vegas.

The signings give Boston a full 20-man roster heading into training camp. The Celtics have 15 players with fully guaranteed contracts, along with the three Exhibit 10 deals and P.J. Dozier and Walt Lemon on two-way contracts.

East Draft Notes: Knicks, Hawks, Bulls, Hornets, Pacers

The Knicks will work out UCLA point guard Aaron Holiday shortly before draft night, according to Ian Begley of ESPN. Holiday will have to make quite an impression to get drafted by New York. He’s currently ranked No. 17 by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and the Knicks hold the No. 9 pick.

Texas A&M big man Robert Williams, ranked No. 12 by Givony, and Missouri State forward Alize Johnson worked out for the Knicks on Monday, according to another Begley post. Villanova guard Donte DiVincenzo was scheduled to work out for New York this week but it will not happen as scheduled, Begley adds.

In other draft workout news concerning Eastern Conference teams:

  • The Hawks will work out Oklahoma point guard Trae Young on Tuesday, according to a team press release. Young is ranked No. 8 by Givony; Atlanta holds the No. 3 pick.
  • Kentucky forward Kevin Knox, rated No. 9 by Givony, worked out for the Bulls on Monday, according to the team’s websiteBryant McIntosh (Northwestern), Donovan Jackson (Iowa State), Jae’Sean Tate (Ohio State), Jeff Roberson (Vanderbilt) and Nick Dixon (UTRGV) were also evaluated by Chicago. The Bulls have the No. 7 selection in the first round.
  • The Hornets will soon work out Michigan State forward Miles Bridges, Jessica Camerato of NBC Sports tweets. Bridges, who visited the Sixers Monday, is ranked No. 15 by Givony and Charlotte holds the No. 11 pick.
  • An injury prevented Tulane small forward Melvin Frazier from working out with the Pacers on Monday, Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports tweets.

Draft Notes: Celtics, Z. Smith, Knicks, Hornets

After having stocked up in draft picks in many recent seasons, the Celtics head into this month’s draft with only one selection at No. 27 overall. That allows Boston to narrow its focus during its pre-draft preparations, and the club is doing just that as it weighs its options at No. 27, according to director of player personnel Austin Ainge (Twitter link via Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com).

“I think there are about 10 guys that we’ve kind of narrowed it down to that we think have a chance to be there,” said the Celtics’ executive. “Like I said, we evaluate the whole draft all the time. But we’ve kind of tried to laser focus in to about 10.”

One of those 10 players could be Duke’s Grayson Allen, who is viewed as a probable late first-round pick and is working out for Boston today, as previously reported. Joining him at that group workout are Deng Adel (Louisville), Jeffrey Carroll (Oklahoma State), Billy Preston (Bosnia), Allonzo Trier (Arizona), and Kenrich Williams (TCU), tweets Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe.

Here are a few more pre-draft workout updates:

  • Texas Tech guard Zhaire Smith is the latest top prospect to schedule a workout with the Knicks, according to ESPN’s Ian Begley, who writes that Smith will earn a look from the club on Saturday. New York is auditioning a handful of potential lottery picks tomorrow, with Miles Bridges and Kevin Knox also set to attend.
  • Elsewhere on the Knicks‘ scouting front, the team was represented at Michael Porter Jr.‘s Pro Day today, though Scott Perry and Steve Mills didn’t attend as previously reported, tweets Ian Begley of ESPN.com. The Knicks have a pre-draft meeting scheduled with Porter, Begley adds.
  • The Hornets are hosting their fourth pre-draft workout on Saturday, according to the team. Joe Chealey (College of Charleston), Allerik Freeman (N.C. State), Dakota Mathias (Purdue), Doral Moore (Wake Forest), and Jeff Roberson (Vanderbilt) will participate, alongside Texas A&M’s Robert Williams.
  • After auditioning for Charlotte, Purdue guard Dakota Mathias also has workouts on tap with the Lakers, Pistons, and Kings, a league source tells Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (Twitter link). Mathias, who averaged 12.0 PPG with a .466 3PT% in his senior year, previously worked out for Toronto.

Draft Workouts: Walker, Clippers, A.J. Davis, Hawks

Miami guard Lonnie Walker IV, considered a potential lottery pick, had his first pre-draft workout on Sunday when he met with the Hornets, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. According to Bonnell, Walker indicated that he’ll audition for about six more teams, all of whom are picking in the 10-to-20 range in this month’s draft.

Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com has Walker going to the Clippers at No. 13 in his most recent mock draft, noting that the former Hurricane is a candidate to increase his stock during the pre-draft process due to his ” youth, strong frame, wingspan, and ability to shoot with his feet set or off the dribble.”

Here are more updates on pre-draft workouts, including another note on the Clippers: