The Celtics made a couple of anticipated and widely reported moves official today, announcing the signings of PG Phil Pressey and Brazilian C Vitor Faverani.
I got a chance to talk to Phil Pressey in Orlando, as well as head coach Brad Stevens, about his chances of making the roster.
“I like Phil. There are some things that Phil can certainly get better at and he will, he’ll work hard to do it. He’s very dynamic with the ball, and I think if he continues to do that and if he continues to make shots and really work on that part of things he’s going to be in good shape.”
One problem for Pressey is turnovers. He’s got 9 in two games. Summer League Head Coach Jay Larranaga has said turnovers are expected in a summer league setting like this where guys are still getting comfortable with one another. But it’s also something the Celtics have told Pressey to work on.
“I talked to Danny Ainge a lot he knows I can do a lot of those things but the one thing I have to work on and get better is just maintaining my turnovers. If I keep those low, all the other things will take care of themselves.”
If you’re curious about Faverani, we took a closer look at him here.
These two signings bring the total roster to 16. This does not take Colton Iverson into account. He was drafted in the second round and has not signed a contract at this moment. There had been rumblings that he might go play overseas for a year, make his money, and let the C’s do whatever they have to do this year while still retaining his rights. Nothing like that has happened at the moment, so he’s still in some limbo.
The Celtics official roster page also continues to list Chris Wilcox, whom I’m also not counting since he’s a free agent.
Without knowing the specific details of the Pressey signing, I’m working on the assumption that he’s on a non-guaranteed deal that will have some guaranteed money triggered if he makes the team. The Hoopsworld salary page lists his deal as non-guaranteed, so that lends some validity to the assumption. It’s possible he could get to camp, get cut, and be tucked away in the D-League. We’ll have to wait and see.
There is also the matter of Shavlik Randolph, who is due a guaranteed $1.1 million if he’s not cut by August 1. As much as we all love Shav, I’m guessing he’ll get cut if he’s not thrown into a trade before then. Sorry, Shav fans… that’s the business of guaranteed vs. non-guaranteed money. I’d rather have Shav over Fab Melo right now, but the C’s are locked into paying Fab this year unless they can move him.
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