Olynyk, Smart headline Celtics Summer League roster

SB ANTION

By TimMacLean  @MacLeanNBA on Jun 28 2014, 4:08p 49

The Orlando Summer League kicks off next Saturday, July 5, and, as expected, the Celtics will be one of the 10 teams to participate in the festivities. But who will represent the green and white down in Florida next weekend? Well, so far, 13 names have surfaced:

Name    Position    Height    Weight    Last Played
O.D. Anosike    PF    6'8    241 lbs.    Scavolini Pesaro (Italy); Strasbourg IG (France)
Chris Babb    SG    6'5    225 lbs.    Celtics
Dairis Bertans    SG    6'4    185 lbs.    Bilbao Basket (Spain)
Daniel Coursey    PF    6'10    220 lbs.    Mercer
Colton Iverson    C    7'0    255 lbs.    Besiktas (Turkey)
Edwin Jackson    SG    6'3    201 lbs.    ASVEL Basket (France)
Chris Johnson    SG    6'6    201 lbs.    Celtics
Mike Moser    SF    6'8    211 lbs.    Oregon
Devin Oliver    SF    6'7    225 lbs.    Dayton
Kelly Olynyk    C    7'0    238 lbs.    Celtics
Phil Pressey    PG    5'11    175 lbs.    Celtics
Marcus Smart    PG    6'4    225 lbs.    Oklahoma State
James Young    SG    6'6    215 lbs.    Kentucky

At this point in the process we all know what Babb, Iverson, Johnson, Olynyk, Pressy, Smart, and Young are capable of. But what about the others?

O.D. Anosike

O.D. Anosike is a big bodied forward who has a nose for rebounding the basketball. While at Siena College he led Division I in rebounding for two straight years, first in 2011-12 (12.5 RPG) and then again in 2012-13 (11.4 RPG). Only seven players in NCAA history have officially taken home multiple rebounding titles during their collegiate careers - Anosike is one of them. The other six to accomplish the feat were Leroy Wright, Jerry Lucas, Artis Gilmore, Kermit Washington, Xavier McDaniel, and Paul Millsap. Not exactly bad company.

Dairis Bertans

Dairis Bertans' numbers aren't going to jump off the page at you. He's averaged a steady 10-11 points per game - never shooting over 50% from the floor - over the past couple of years, playing in both EuroCup and the ACB League. However, the Latvian has been known to be a pretty explosive athlete and he has a world of experience under his belt despite being just 24 years old.

Bertans earned a spot on the U-16, U-18, and U-20 Latvian national teams and has represented the country as a member of it's national team.

Daniel Coursey

After averaging 10.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game over the course of his senior year at Mercer, Coursey made a name for himself in the Bear's upset win over Duke in the NCAA Tournament. The 6'10 big man poured in 17 points on 7-12 shooting that night while adding 4 boards to his stat line.

Coursey is a little underweight at just 220 pounds, but he has a solid frame and skill set to build upon. He won't be earning minutes stateside anytime soon but he could have a solid career ahead of him on the other side of the pond.

 
Edwin Jackson

If there's one thing that Edwin Jackson is good at, it's putting the ball in the basket.

In 32 games playing for ASVEL Basket in France last year, Jackson averaged 18 points per game on a solid 46 and 35 percent shooting from the floor and beyond the arc, respectively. He's also an explosive athlete, recording an average of 35.6 inches on his max-vert in three trips to Eurocamp.

Jackson thought about trying his hand at the NBA level back in 2010 when he declared for the draft as an early entrant but the 24 year old had a change of heart and withdrew his name from the field.

Mike Moser

Following a disappointing year at UNLV in 2012-13, Mike Moser transferred to Oregon for his senior year.

He bounced back in a big way during the 2013-14 season, stuffing the stat sheet with 13.2 points, 7.7 boards, 1.6 assists, 0.7 blocks, and 1.1 steals per game. Moser is obviously a very versatile prospect and his 6'8 size makes him an attractive option to come off the bench as a do-it-all utility man. Out of all the free agents the Celtics have brought on to play for their Summer League entrant, it seems as though Moser has the best chance of sticking. That's not to say he will, but if it's going to be anybody, my money is on Moser.

Devin Oliver

Devin Oliver was a consistent contributor to the Flyers' cinderella run through the NCAA Tournament, averaging 10.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. The numbers are in line with those of his season averages - 11.9 points and 7.4 rebounds - but his efficiency as a scorer fell off significantly against the tougher competition Dayton faced in the tournament. However, Oliver's career numbers prove that he's a gym rat that never gets satisfied with where his game is at. From his freshman to senior year at Dayton, he improved his points, assists, and blocks per game, along with his field goal and three point shooting percentages.

Stats courtesy of DraftExpress and ESPN.com.

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It seems as though, every summer, one player proves to be a pleasant surprise, even rising above expectations.  Last year, it was Kelly Olynyk.  It took him most of the following regular season to begin to meet the expectations formed during the summer, but he eventually showed the ability to improve in several key areas.  (However, he still has a long way to go defensively.)

Will it be Smart this year?  Young?  Moser?  It should be fun to watch and discuss the action.

As usual, my main frustration is that I'm the only one who mentioned the word "defense" on this page to date.

Sam

Iverson
Kelly O
Young
Smart
Pressey

welcome to your 2016 Celtic starters!

well...lets hope not.

I'd like to see how Smart and Pressey play together on offense. Pressey does a nice simulation of Rondo so it could be an introducing glimpse into what a Rondo/Smart back court would be like.

Adding Smart could mean the end of Pressey... well, depending on how the Summer League goes. After all, Phil should be dominating those D-Leaguers this year after experiencing the big leagues.   



KJ