The Celtics are slowly but surely taking care of their eight (!) 2016 draft picks.
They’ll sign No. 3 pick Jaylen Brown. No. 16 pick Guerschon Yabusele and No. 23 pick Ante Zizic will remain overseas. The Nos. 31 and 35 picks were traded for a future first-rounder on draft night.
And Boston has reached terms with No. 45 pick Demetrius Jackson and No. 51 pick Ben Bentil.
Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe:
The Celtics have agreed to guaranteed deals w/Gerald Green, Tyler Zeller, & Demetrius Jackson & partial guarantee w/Ben Bentil, source says.
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) July 23, 2016
As second-rounders, neither Jackson nor Bentil count against the cap until signed. So, the Celtics -- with a little cap space plus the room exception and minimum-salary exceptions available -- might wait a while to officially sign either player.
Jackson would give Boston 16 players -- one more than the regular-season roster limit -- with guaranteed salaries. Obviously, the Celtics will have to make a move -- a big one, they surely hope.
Any deal could avoid a point guard, because Jackson makes four with Isaiah Thomas, Marcus Smart, Terry Rozier. Most teams carry just three.
With this roster crunch, Bentil will probably head to the D-League after training camp. The partial guarantee is likely just designed to entice him to stick in Boston’s system rather than sign overseas.
This leaves just No. 58 pick Abdel Nader unaccounted for among the Celtics eight (!) 2016 draft picks.