Celtics Invite Latvian SG to Orlando Team

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/celtics/post/_/id/4713186/report-bertans-invited-to-summer-squad




Latvian shooting-guard Dairis Bertans has been invited to the Boston ''Celtics'' NBA Summer League squad, the player himself confirmed to the Latvian sports portal sportacentrs.com, cites LETA.

''The ''Celtics'' have been following along my progress in Europe, and have invited me to fight for a roster spot on their team,'' the basketball player said. ''I will be going to Boston on June 29, a few days before the start of the Orlando Summer League, so that I could get some more practice in.''

If Bertans does not make it on the ''Celtics'' roster for next season, he does not rule out the possibility that he might not return to Spanish ACB League club ''Bilbao'', which has been going through financial difficulties recently. ''If the club still exists after the summer, then it will likely have much less finances available. I am not prepared to play for a smaller salary. I have reached the age in which I should start earning something.''

In 32 ACB League games for ''Bilbao'' this past season, Bertans averaged 10.3 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.

At the same time, the 24-year-old played in 14 ULEB Eurocup matches for the club, averaging 10.8 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.

The ''Celtics'' will play its first Summer League match on July 5 against the Oklahoma City ''Thunder''.




bob


6'4", 185#.

During 32 games in the ACB league this past season, the 6-foot-4, 187-pound Latvian averaged 10.3 points over 23.7 minutes per game, according to DraftExpress.

http://search.draftexpress.com/profile/Dairis-Bertans-1383/





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Bertrans has played for the Latvian National Team where he led Latvia to a bronze medal in 2007 U18 European Championship in Spain. Bertans was also named to all-tournament team. He represented Latvian national team in EuroBasket 2011 and was the leading scorer (14.1 points per game) for their National Team in 2012, when he helped Latvia to earn a spot in EuroBasket 2013.

The 24 year old Latvian guard is 6'4" tall and weighs 185 lbs. He has been playing professional basketball in Europe since 2005. His explosive style of play Dairis has earned him the nickname "Latvian Rocket."



bob



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Looks like he has a left hand. Does he have a right hand? I always like when their eyes are focused downcourt on the dribble. It's always fun to have Euro-types on the summer squad because they're almost automatically underdogs and it's fun to root for the underdog. Go Dairis.

Sam

6'4" is a pretty decent height. He'd need to bulk a little bit, though.


KJ