The Celtics still have one two-way roster slot left open but one potential option has found a new home out west. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com reports that Boston Summer League center Udoka Azubuike has agreed to a two-way deal with the Suns for next season.
The 23-year-old Azubuike will be entering his fourth NBA season after three underwhelming years in Utah. The No. 27 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft played in just 68 games over his first three years, averaging 3.5 points and 3.3 rebounds in ten minutes per game.
Utah declined to pick up his fourth-year rookie scale option last season, leading him to join Boston’s Summer League team. However, the 6-foot-10 big man failed to impress during his minutes in Las Vegas, surprisingly coming off a bench as a reserve despite his NBA experience.
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Azubuike averaged just 7.4 points and 6.6 rebounds over five games for Boston, a sharp decline from his Summer League play just two years ago for Utah. He also failed to make much of a meaningful impact defensively from a rim protection standpoint, blocking just 0.6 shots per game.
The Celtics likely have room for at least one more big man on their roster, whether it’s on the 15-man roster or as a two-way deal but the team clearly felt there were better potential fits out there than Azubuike. Boston’s current bigs signed include Robert Williams, Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis, Oshae Brissett and Luke Kornet. Blake Griffin remains an unrestricted free agent.
Boston already signed Jay Scrubb and JD Davidson to two-way deals last month but team president of basketball operations Brad Stevens signaled last month the team is still looking to add to the roster.
“I think we’ll try to add obviously a little bit,” Stevens said during Summer League. “I’d like to get a little more depth, maybe on the wing, and then also maybe with a 4/3 type. I feel pretty good about our bigs. We’ve got a couple two ways, so we’ve got some things we’re still very much looking at.”
Boston has three non-guaranteed contracts on the 15-man roster so the team still has plenty of roster flexibility to add along with one open roster spot. Boston also acquired a pair of second-round picks and a $6.2 million trade exception in exchange for dealing away restricted free agent Grant Williams to the Mavericks last month.
“We’re in a unique position obviously where, when we traded, we weren’t going to take much back,” Stevens said of the deal. “But I do think it’ll be a good opportunity for him and it gives us some flexibility here as we move forward.”
