John Bohannon

Celtics Officially Sign Maten, Gates; Camp Roster Set

The Celtics have made a handful of roster moves to set their roster for training camp, the team announced today in a press release. Boston waived recently-signed players Bryce Brown and John Bohannon, officially signing Yante Maten and Kaiser Gates using the newly-created openings.

Maten, 23, spent most of the 2018/19 season on a two-way contract with the Heat. He appeared in just two games for Miami but thrived for the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the G League. The rookie power forward averaged 23.5 PPG and 9.7 RPG in 30 games for Sioux Falls, earning a spot on the All-NBAGL Second Team. After being waived by Miami this summer, he reached an agreement with Boston.

Gates, who will turn 23 in November, joined the Bulls for training camp last fall after going undrafted out of Xavier. He was waived by Chicago before the season began and reported to the team’s G League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls. In 50 NBAGL games, the forward recorded 12.7 PPG and 6.4 RPG with a .408/.375/.786 shooting line. Earlier this month, he agreed to sign with the Celtics.

As for the Celtics’ waived players, Brown is expected to become an affiliate player for the Maine Red Claws, while Bohannon will likely rejoin to Boston’s G League team as a returning rights player.

The Celtics now have a full 20-man roster heading into camp, including 14 players on guaranteed salaries. Assuming Boston plans on carrying a 15th man, Maten and Gates figure to compete with Tacko Fall and Javonte Green for that spot.

Celtics Sign John Bohannon

The Celtics have officially signed center John Bohannon to a contract, per RealGM’s transactions log. It’s almost certainly a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 deal.

Bohannon, who went undrafted out of UTEP in 2014, has spent much of his professional career playing in the G League. In 2018/19, he appeared in 43 games (20.8 MPG) for the Maine Red Claws, Boston’s affiliate, filling up the box score with averages of 7.7 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 3.2 APG, and 1.6 BPG.

Boston now has a full 20-man roster, though the team has yet to officially complete reported deals with Kaiser Gates and Yante Maten. There has been no indication that either agreement has fallen through, so Gates and Maten will likely be signed at some point after the Celtics open up roster spots by waiving a player or two.

While Bohannon figures to be one of the players cut by the Celtics, it’s not clear whether or not he’ll get a chance to attend camp with the team first. It looks like his contract is intended to ensure he’ll receive an Exhibit 10 bonus worth up to $50K when he eventually returns to the G League with the Red Claws.

Draft Notes: Knicks, Suns, Raptors, Randle

The Knicks find themselves without a selection in the upcoming draft, but Phil Jackson admitted he will try to buy a second-round pick from the Bucks or the Sixers, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post. Teams are allowed to exchange draft picks for cash, and Jackson sees Milwaukee and Philadelphia as the two teams who could most easily stand to part with some of their selections. Let’s round up the latest on the draft:

  • We already heard that the Suns worked out Lamar Patterson, De’Mon Brooks, and Kendall Williams yesterday, but the team watched another three seniors show their skills off as well, writes Paul Coro of AZ Central. Phoenix also observed Dwight Powell, Russ Smith, and Andre Dawkins.
  • Stephen Holt, John Bohannon, Eric Moreland, and Brendan Lane are scheduled to work out for the Kings, according to a team press release. Moreland has the most potential in the group according to the rankings of Chad Ford from ESPN, who has the Oregon State big man slotted at No. 77 on his list of top prospects.
  • Although Masai Ujiri considers second-round selections to be valuable, the Raptors GM said he would consider all of his options on draft night, ostensibly implying he wouldn’t be opposed to trading one or both of his second-rounders to move up. Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun has the full story.
  • League scouts and executives tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders that Julius Randle is a safe bet to be a solid contributor in the league and that he has the potential to “wreak havoc” and excel in the post at the level of Zach Randolph.

Cray Allred contributed to this post.