{"id":52107,"date":"2023-07-30T21:44:27","date_gmt":"2023-07-31T01:44:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=52107"},"modified":"2023-07-30T21:44:27","modified_gmt":"2023-07-31T01:44:27","slug":"nba-rumors-celtics-heat-thunder-and-pelicans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2023\/07\/30\/nba-rumors-celtics-heat-thunder-and-pelicans\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA Rumors: Celtics, Heat, Thunder and Pelicans"},"content":{"rendered":"

This edition of the NBA rumor mill will look at teams instead of players. I will look at the Boston Celtics<\/a> draft and stash prospects and a couple of players that the Miami Heat<\/a> may be interested in signing a couple of players. I will also look at some of the happenings within the Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a> and New Orleans Pelicans<\/a> camp.<\/p>\n

NBA Rumors: Celtics, Heat, Thunder and Pelicans<\/h2>\n

Boston Celtics Draft-and-Stash<\/h3>\n

The Boston Celtics have 14 players on standard contracts<\/a> for the upcoming season and are very close to the league’s super tax apron. Dalano Banton<\/strong><\/a> has a partial guarantee until opening night, when $1.2 million of his $2 million deal becomes guaranteed. Justin Champagnie<\/strong><\/a> is on a nonguaranteed deal though the C’s owe him $50,000 on August 1.<\/p>\n

Two players who won’t be competing for a roster spot for a couple of seasons, according to Brian Trobb of MassLive<\/a>, are draft-and-stash prospects Yam Madar<\/strong><\/a> and Juhann Begarin<\/strong><\/a>. Trobb said that while the Celtics are still high on both players, neither are ready for the NBA.<\/p>\n

Madar, selected with the No. 47 overall pick in 2020, has been playing professionally overseason since 2018. The 22-year-old Israeli point guard has spent the last two seasons with Serbian club Partizan Belgrade. In 76 games across all competitions for Partizan last year, Mader averaged 6.6 points with a shooting slash line of .478\/.405\/.853. The 2023 EuroLeague Rising Star recipient also contributed 2.1 assists and 1.1 turnovers in 16 minutes. He signed with Turkish club Fenerbahce Beko on July 12 for two years with an option for a third season.<\/p>\n

Begarin was selected with the No. 45 pick in 2021 by the Celtics and has been playing professionally since 2019. The 20-year-old shooting guard has played for Paris Basketball in France’s second-tier league since turning pro but has moved to Nanterre 92 of France’s top league for the upcoming season.<\/p>\n

Begarin averaged 11.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.4 steals in 45 contests last season. He didn’t shoot it well in 2022-23 and struggles defensively and with turnovers. The same thing can be said about his performance in this year’s summer league<\/a>, where he scored 18 points a game.<\/p>\n

Oklahoma City Thunder’s Roster Issue<\/h3>\n

The Thunder have 20 players on standard contracts for the upcoming season. Therefore, the Thunder must purge five players between now and opening night. Joe Mussatto of the Oklahoman<\/a> projects the five players that won’t be included on the Thunder’s 15-man roster this year are Jeremiah Robinson-Earl<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Victor Oladipo<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Jack White<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Usman Garuba<\/a>,<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0TyTy Washington<\/a>. <\/strong>OKC received Garuba, Olidipo, and Washington in trades this summer.<\/p>\n

“[Thunder general manager] Sam Presti and the front office has been clever this offseason in turning over the back end of the roster for more picks, and I don’t think they’re done,” Mussatto wrote. “The expiring contract of Oladipo ($9.5 million) could be useful as part of a larger trade. And heck, maybe Washington or Garuba could be flipped for a second-round pick. The Thunder might eventually have to waive a player or two, but there’s a couple of months to figure that out.”<\/p>\n