Boston Celtics: Celtics Close To Signing Phil Pressey, Vitor Faverani

The major overhaul of the Boston Celtics’ roster continues with the team reportedly closing in on deals with point guard Phil Pressey and Brazilian big man Vitor Faverani. Pressey had already received an invite to training camp with the Celtics and is now believed to be working on a one-year deal with the team. Danny Ainge said at Monday’s press conference that the Celtics were “having conversations with Phil.” Although he did note that at this time “nothing’s official.” Seemingly closer to a done deal however is the Celtics’ signing of Brazilian center Vitor Favorini, Yahoo’s Marc Spears reported that the two sides had agreed on a three-year deal to bring the 25 year old to Boston.

Pressey, an undrafted point guard from the 2013 NBA Draft, came in for multiple workouts for the Celtics and was one of the top performers for the team in the Orlando Summer League. He garnered an honorable mention for the All-Orlando Summer League Team after averaging 9.4 points, 6.6 assists and two steals per game. The son of Paul Pressey, a former All-Defensive NBA teamer and NCAA All-American, Phil Pressey is a pure point guard with tremendous ball handling and excellent playmaking abilities. He possesses great vision and leadership qualities when running an offense and the Celtics have long missed having a true backup point guard on the roster. There are some concerns over Pressey, which are a large reason why the Missouri product went undrafted. He is undersized at just 5’11” and struggled a great deal with his scoring efficiency; he shot just 37.6 percent in his junior year. The 22-year-old point guard became the all-time leader in both assists and steals for Missouri despite playing just three seasons in the NCAA. He had a number of big time performances against high profile schools this past season, setting an SEC record with 19 assists against UCLA and exploding for 27 points with 10 assists against Kentucky. He averaged 11.9 points and a conference-leading 7.1 assists per game in his junior year and that natural playmaking ability is what has given him this opportunity to potentially join a rebuilding Celtics franchise.

Meanwhile, Vitor Faverani appears to be on the verge of signing a multi-year deal with the Celtics after Spears’ earlier report, despite no official confirmation from the team as yet. Faverani, at 6’11” and more than 260 pounds, has the size and strength to play center in the NBA and at 25 years old he already has a tremendous amount of professional and international experience. Faverani had previously declared for the NBA draft in 2009 but went undrafted and has continued to hone his skills in Spain as well as with the Brazilian national team. Coming off the bench this past season for Valencia in one of the world’s top professional leagues, Faverani averaged 9.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and shot better than 59 percent from the field in just 17 minutes per game. While Faverani is no great athlete, he runs the floor well and has the size to finish with force in the paint. He has good touch around the post, solid post footwork and good range on his jumper for a man his size. He is a decent rebounder, mainly thanks to his size and strength, will need to work on his timing and jumping ability to match it with the big men in the NBA. It is unclear what, if any role Faverani will play for the Celtics next season but the team needs depth at center and Faverani could find himself on an NBA court sooner rather than later.

Both Pressey and Faverani will still have work to do to make the 2013-14 Celtics’ roster even if they do officially sign with the team. The Celtics currently have the maximum of 15 players signed and are considering adding Pressey, Faverani and second-round rookie Colton Iverson. General manager Danny Ainge has made a significant overhaul to the Celtics’ roster this offseason and it appears that he still has a number of moves to make before settling on his final 2013-14 roster. Pressey and Faverani appear to be likely additions while a number of the existing contracted players could find themselves in another city by opening day.