The Boston Celtics found their guy, but it took a bit longer than expected to get him on the team.
This offseason has been a roller coaster for the Celtics. After watching Jayson Tatum tear his Achilles and fall to the New York Knicks in the second round, the Celtics suddenly had to get ready for life as a non-contender.
With Tatum’s injury pushing the Celtics out of the top tier of the East, Brad Stevens took things a step further, sending out Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis. Add in the departures of Luke Kornet and Al Horford, and suddenly, Boston is almost unrecognizable.
Many of those moves were about helping the Celtics’ financial situation, as the team didn’t want to pay the price of the second apron in a year where it isn’t in the title picture. Still looking to make the playoffs, the Celtics needed to revamp their roster with young and cheap talent.
Recently, the Celtics traded for two-way wing RJ Luis Jr. from the Utah Jazz in a deal that sent out Georges Niang. While Luis just landed in Boston, it wasn’t the first time the Celtics pursued him.
According to a report from Jake Fischer, Luis was pursued by the Celtics as an undrafted free agent. Ultimately, Luis chose to sign with the Jazz as an undrafted free agent, but the Celtics still pounced on adding him at the first chance they got.
Although Luis probably won’t move the needle for the Celtics, Stevens and company secured the services of the St. John’s product as they had hoped to do earlier in the summer.
