Dionte Christmas waived from Celtics roster despite strong preseason

UPDATE 4:51 pm: Nope.

Turns out Kris Joseph has made the roster and both Dionte Christmas and Jamar Smith have been waived. It is a bit of a surprise considering how Christmas has played.

10:55 am: It looks like Christmas is coming to Boston a little early this year.

Dionte Christmas — the 26-year-old NBA rookie who has spent the last three seasons playing in Europe — seems to have found his way into the NBA.

The Celtics gave him a chance with an unguaranteed contract and it appears the guy Kevin Garnett calls “Temple” (where he went to college) may make the roster, reports A. Sherrod Blakely in an interview on Comcast SportsNet Boston.

The guy that has jumped out, really, is Dionte Christmas … His versatility has really set him apart. He has the ability to score at this level. He’s proven to be a decent defender and he’s learning to be more of a facilitator, something we did not see much of when he came out of Temple University.

Coming out of college in 2009 Christmas was pegged as a shooter (and not a great one) and little more. But his three years playing in Israel, the Czech Republic and Greece seemed to both steady his shot and round out his game enough that he is a fit. He’s not going to get a ton of minutes, but he’d be on the roster and get a chance.

It should be added that Christmas’ contract still pays him $200,000 if the Celtics cut him, which makes it far less likely they do.