Boston Celtics: Complete grades for the 2019 NBA offseason
By Adam Taylor
Drafting Tremont Waters
Tremont Waters, the 51st pick in the draft, is an undersized guard out of LSU at 5-foot-11 and 175 pounds who spent last year proving his doubters wrong.
Over the course of 33 games he averaged 15.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists while hitting 43 percent of his shots from the field and 32.7 percent from behind the arc.
This late in the draft is when teams begin to search for the diamond in the rough, with Isaiah Thomas being the most obvious comparison in this instance. Waters displayed his skills during the Summer League, showcasing an ability to run the offense.
His eye for the basket and ability to draw contact further enhanced his chances, as did his willingness to do the dirty work on defense — regularly stealing or poking the ball loose.
Over the five games in Vegas, Waters averaged 11.2 points, 4.8 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.8 rebounds per game while playing a shade over 24 minutes a game.
His play earned him a two-way contract with the Celtics, allowing him to spend a maximum of 45 days in the NBA while he develops..
It remains to be seen if Waters will be able to carve out a role on an NBA roster; generally guards of his size struggle to remain in the league — think Phil Pressey.
While it is still to early to gauge his ceiling, you cannot fault the Celtics for taking the chance to evaluate Waters over the course of the season whilst keeping control of his rights. A low-risk draft pick at the tail end of the draft, judgment cannot be passed until the earliest of next summer.