It’s really a minor housekeeping move, but the Celtics did the expected quite quickly and signed all 3 of their new rookies.
Terms of the deal were not announced, but the base salary for first-round picks was slotted at $1.089 million for Sullinger (21st overall pick) and $1.045 million (22nd). First-round draft picks can be inked at up to 120 percent of that base salary, which the Celtics have done in each of the past two seasons, giving first-round picks Avery Bradley (19th in 2010) and JaJuan Johnson (27th in 2011) a slight bump.
Second-round contracts typically check in at the minimum, which for next season is $473,604.
Next up for these guys, the Las Vegas Summer League. It will be the Celtics first chance to see these guys running around playing against some at least marginal NBA talent. It should be a good field, though, and we’ll get at least some idea of what these guys can and can’t do.
On that note, I will be attending the Vegas Summer League and will have full scouting reports on all the guys from their last 3 games (I’ll watch the others from home, but I hope to have more in-depth stuff when I’m there).
The Herald has more on who else you can expect on the roster. The names include
Craig Brackens
Stephan Lasme
JaJuan Johnson
E’Twaun Moore
Dionte Christmas
Jonathan Gibson
Jamar Smith
Sean Williams
Lasme’s been on SL rosters before, so he’s getting yet another look. Sean Williams will have more of a chance to make an impression. I expect Johnson and Moore to get a LOT of minutes, probably along with Sullinger and Melo, as the Celtics try to evaluate who can make more of an impact this upcoming season. These guys are fighting for serious minutes. Moore and Johnson will have to show confidence and leadership as the “veteran” leaders of this Celtics team. They know (a) what the system is, (b) what the team is trying to accomplish and (c) what the team needs from them.
I’ve long said that Summer League success means less than Summer League failure. Failing to perform when a lot is expected of you in that setting where maybe a few guys from each team will be legitimate NBA players is bad. Success in that situation is expected. We’ll be watching for proper execution of plays along with good fundamentals. I don’t care if the shots fall, as long as everything leading up to the shots being taken works.
It’s going to be a lot of fun, and we get to watch some basketball again very soon.
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