The main players to be featured in the Boston Celtics return to Las Vegas Summer League after a season off due to the pandemic is finally starting to come into focus, with a handful of players and prospects being identified by the media as likely participants.
A total of five players are reportedly expected to head to Sin City this summer to take part in the annual tire-kicking and skill-polishing fiesta fans love to over-react to each year (save last, of course) according to Celtics Wire alumnus and Athletic NBA insider Jared Weiss. A sixth player may also make the trip, but his participation has yet to be decided, as it may well relate to how he is seen by new head coach Ime Udoka, and whoever Boston drafts at No. 45 this year should also make the trip.
We’re getting a bit ahead of ourselves however, so let’s take a look at the likely suspects (and before you ask, we aren’t certain regarding big man Moses Brown’s status).
Yam Madar – guard – prospect
Dov Halickman/Sports Rabbi
By now it is anything but a secret that the much-anticipated arrival of Boston’s stashed 2020 draft prospect will be making his stateside debut with the Celtics for summer league. He’ll be playing for a chance to make the regular-season roster, but will need to impress given he’ll require a buyout from his current team to make the leap to the NBA this season.
Carsen Edwards – guard – two seasons’ experience
Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
Edwards is likely fighting for his roster spot with the Celtics as well, but as an established player who hasn’t quite shown enough to stick on a competitive NBA roster to date. That said, he may well draw enough attention with solid play to convince a team with more time for a player in need of reps to develop that the 2019 No. 33 pick is worth picking up.
Romeo Langford – wing – two seasons’ experience
AP Photo/Charles Krupa
Like Edwards, Langford has had a paucity of opportunity at the NBA level, but most of that has been due to bad luck on the injury front. Unlike Edwards, the Indiana native has also shown flashes of high-level defense and hinted at a perimeter game in the 2021 series against the Brooklyn Nets. For the former Hoosier, this trip to Vegas is as much about getting the often-mothballed wing some playing time as anything.
Payton Pritchard – guard – one season’s experience
Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports
Pritchard may need the reps less than anyone else participating, but if the Oregon product is going to try and find new ways to contribute to his team’s offense, exploring his capabilities off-ball is a potentially fruitful are for him to experiment. Getting some chemistry going with his second unit teammates certainly won’t be a negative either.
Aaron Nesmith – forward – one seasons’ experience
Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports
Nesmith took a while to find his groove in his inaugural season in the NBA but found ways to contribute at a high level before his shot fell, and once that came around as well looked to be the player Boston hoped to draft. More opportunity to garner high-level play can only help his development, with the South Carolinian showing he might even be a more complete prospect than the 3-and-D sharpshooter the Celtics were after.
Tacko Fall – center – two seasons’ experience (contingent on remaining with the team)
Mary Schwalm/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald
Fall’s participation likely depends on the perception of his future with the team, as it’d be better for the UCF product to have time to latch onto a good situation with a team that can continue to develop him if it is not in the cards with the Celtics. The Senegalese center has shown steady growth and a sterling work ethic, so there are convincing arguments pro and con to retaining Fall on a frontcourt-heavy roster. This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook! [lawrence-related id=54305,54283,54254,54249] [listicle id=54279]
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