The Celtics had a fresh face debuting on their Summer League team Friday night as Charles Bassey was an unexpected late addition to the team’s Summer League roster. The former Spurs big man shined off the bench for Boston, posting 14 points and 11 rebounds in the team’s win over the Grizzlies at Cox Pavilion.
On Saturday, Brad Stevens revealed what led to Bassey joining Boston at the last minute to begin a potentially promising stint for the big man this summer.
“Charles has played a lot of NBA minutes over the last couple of years,” Stevens said. “Like several other guys, he made the decision at the last minute to participate in a practice or participate in a series of practices and ultimately played with the team. I thought he did a really good job yesterday.”
Bassey is an unrestricted free agent after playing his last three seasons with the Spurs. The 6-foot-10 big man has interested the Celtics dating back to last offseason, sources tell MassLive and there is a clear potential for opportunity in Boston after the offseason exits of Kristaps Porzingis, Luke Kornet and Al Horford.
Stevens did not signal anything about Bassey’s chances of sticking with Boston beyond this Summer League stint but the president of basketball operations spoke highly of the big man’s impact in just 18 minutes
“I don’t want to speak for him, what his goals might be,” Stevens said. “He’s a guy that’s probably playing for what’s next. I just think he’s a guy we’ve paid attention to from afar for a long time. We’re watching all these guys all the time and I thought he did a really good job yesterday. He probably was the biggest reason we won the game I thought.”
The Celtics currently only have Neemias Queta, Luka Garza and Xavier Tillman signed as big men on the roster along with two-way center Amari Williams. Boston’s 15-man roster is currently full but there is plenty of flexibility for the team to bring in a player on a training camp contract. Stevens could also tweak the roster more in the coming days and weeks with a trade or opening up a roster spot.
Whether Bassey earns an opportunity like that likely depends on his play for the remainder of the upcoming week in Las Vegas. For now, the 24-year-old looked like a cut above the competition in Summer League and could be a potential option to help replenish their depleted frontcourt depth.
