The Boston Celtics have signed Jalen Jones and Damion Lee to contracts for the 2016-17 season, sources tell CelticsBlog. Jones was signed to a one-year deal for this upcoming season. Lee was signed for two seasons through the 2017-18 season. Terms are not yet available, but it is likely both received a partial guarantee for 2016-17, as is the club’s past practice. While it is unlikely that either Jones or Lee makes the team out of camp, the Celtics will have their D-League rights. A guaranteed amount can entice players to head to Maine versus pursuing larger deals overseas.
Jones is a 6’7’’ small forward who was undrafted out of Texas A&M in 2016. He played with Toronto in the Las Vegas Summer League. He began his college career at SMU, becoming a full time starter as a sophomore. He then sat out the 2013-14 season as he transferred to Texas A&M. As an Aggie, Jones started 59 out of 64 games his junior and senior seasons.
Jones has shown to be a reliable scorer, especially in the post and going to the basket. He has made strides as a three point shooter, but still has plenty of room to grow there. His ball handling and passing is also a work in progress, as he has a tendency to look for his own shot first vs acting as a playmaker. This is fairly common for most collegiate wings, but will need to improve for him to make it in the NBA.
As a defender, Jones has proven to be rugged and somewhat versatile. He’s not afraid to battle for position against bigger players. In the NBA he projects to be more of a small forward defensively, with the ability to play some small ball power forward. He’ll need to improve his quickness and defensive stance to hold his own on the wing, as this was something he struggled with in college. In addition, he’s a very good rebounder for a player of his size and position. He averaged over 6 rebounds per game in college.
Lee is a 6’6’’ shooting guard/small forward who went undrafted out of Louisville in 2016. He played with Miami in both the Orlando and Las Vegas Summer Leagues. Lee was a four starter at Drexel before transferring under the grad transfer rules to Louisville for his last year. He was injured for the majority of his junior season in 2013-14, opening up the door for a 5th year.
Lee is a very good scorer, hitting for a high average since his freshman season. Overall, he averaged over 16 PPG in college to go along with just under 5 RPG and just under 2 APG. His best attributes offensively are the range he has on his jumper and his size for his position. As 6’6’’, he has no problem seeing over smaller defenders and he gets good lift on his jumper. His range extends well past the NBA arc, which isn’t always common with college shooters. He’s good coming off screens or off spot ups, but he struggles a bit to create his own looks off the dribble. With NBA caliber teammates and better spacing, he should get cleaner looks which could lead to an uptick in his shooting percentage.
Defensively, Lee is competitive and began to blossom under Rick Pitino’s defensive oriented system. He moves his feet well and is active. Like a lot of young players, he’ll occasionally get lost on defense and lose track of his man. He also has a slight frame, so he can struggle to navigate through screens while chasing his man. He’ll need to add bulk to compete at the NBA level with bigger players. Unlike Jones, who is similar in height, Lee is more likely to play down to the shooting guard position, as he doesn’t have the strength to play up at the power forward spot.
Jones and Lee fill out the training camp roster as the maximum of 20 players, joining previous signing Marcus Georges-Hunt. The initial thought was that Boston would look for another big to fill the camp roster, as they won’t want to push veterans Amir Johnson and Al Horford too much. Kelly Olynyk is also recovering from offseason surgery and could need his reps spotted at times. Rumors continue to swirl around Boston wanting to swap a guard or wing for a big man, and they certainly have the depth to do so if that is the direction they choose.
http://www.celticsblog.com/2016/9/1...ter-set?_ga=1.173039459.1379127644.1473865674
Jones is a 6’7’’ small forward who was undrafted out of Texas A&M in 2016. He played with Toronto in the Las Vegas Summer League. He began his college career at SMU, becoming a full time starter as a sophomore. He then sat out the 2013-14 season as he transferred to Texas A&M. As an Aggie, Jones started 59 out of 64 games his junior and senior seasons.
Jones has shown to be a reliable scorer, especially in the post and going to the basket. He has made strides as a three point shooter, but still has plenty of room to grow there. His ball handling and passing is also a work in progress, as he has a tendency to look for his own shot first vs acting as a playmaker. This is fairly common for most collegiate wings, but will need to improve for him to make it in the NBA.
As a defender, Jones has proven to be rugged and somewhat versatile. He’s not afraid to battle for position against bigger players. In the NBA he projects to be more of a small forward defensively, with the ability to play some small ball power forward. He’ll need to improve his quickness and defensive stance to hold his own on the wing, as this was something he struggled with in college. In addition, he’s a very good rebounder for a player of his size and position. He averaged over 6 rebounds per game in college.
Lee is a 6’6’’ shooting guard/small forward who went undrafted out of Louisville in 2016. He played with Miami in both the Orlando and Las Vegas Summer Leagues. Lee was a four starter at Drexel before transferring under the grad transfer rules to Louisville for his last year. He was injured for the majority of his junior season in 2013-14, opening up the door for a 5th year.
Lee is a very good scorer, hitting for a high average since his freshman season. Overall, he averaged over 16 PPG in college to go along with just under 5 RPG and just under 2 APG. His best attributes offensively are the range he has on his jumper and his size for his position. As 6’6’’, he has no problem seeing over smaller defenders and he gets good lift on his jumper. His range extends well past the NBA arc, which isn’t always common with college shooters. He’s good coming off screens or off spot ups, but he struggles a bit to create his own looks off the dribble. With NBA caliber teammates and better spacing, he should get cleaner looks which could lead to an uptick in his shooting percentage.
Defensively, Lee is competitive and began to blossom under Rick Pitino’s defensive oriented system. He moves his feet well and is active. Like a lot of young players, he’ll occasionally get lost on defense and lose track of his man. He also has a slight frame, so he can struggle to navigate through screens while chasing his man. He’ll need to add bulk to compete at the NBA level with bigger players. Unlike Jones, who is similar in height, Lee is more likely to play down to the shooting guard position, as he doesn’t have the strength to play up at the power forward spot.
Jones and Lee fill out the training camp roster as the maximum of 20 players, joining previous signing Marcus Georges-Hunt. The initial thought was that Boston would look for another big to fill the camp roster, as they won’t want to push veterans Amir Johnson and Al Horford too much. Kelly Olynyk is also recovering from offseason surgery and could need his reps spotted at times. Rumors continue to swirl around Boston wanting to swap a guard or wing for a big man, and they certainly have the depth to do so if that is the direction they choose.
http://www.celticsblog.com/2016/9/1...ter-set?_ga=1.173039459.1379127644.1473865674
