Boston Celtics rookie forward Jordan Mickey is having himself quite a good summer league showing thus far. The second round pick out of LSU is trying to negotiate a contract with the Celtics right now and may have a bit more leverage due to his summer league performance, but reportedly the two sides can't seem to come to an agreement at this point, according to ESPNBoston.com.
The Celtics are reportedly trying to lock up the 33rd overall pick long-term, but Mickey doesn't seem interested in that. The Celtics reportedly want to offer Mickey a four-year deal for the minimum with options for the last two years. Mickey, on the other hand, is reportedly willing to bet on himself and take a one-year non-guaranteed tender from the Celtics.
If Mickey were to take the one-year tender he would be making the minimum amount and none of the money would be guaranteed, but the positive side of it is that Mickey would then become a free agent after year one and could earn much more money in his second season in the league. By going this route Mickey would be taking a huge risk and would be putting a lot of weight on his performance as a rookie in the NBA. It is very possible that it could end up working out for him, but there is also a chance that this plan could backfire on the former LSU Tiger and he could derail his NBA career before it even starts.
Mickey is a power forward that is undersized at 6 foot-8, but he has extreme athleticism and, as mentioned earlier, has shown well in the summer league. The best thing about Mickey coming out of college was his ability to block shots, which he has done a great job of in seven summer league games (16 blocks, 2.3 per game.) Besides blocking shots, Mickey has also scored and rebounded well, averaging 11.4 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.
Summer league is not always the greatest indicator of who will be successful in the NBA, but Mickey's performance is certainly promising. It's hard to not admire the confidence Mickey has in himself with these contract negotiations, but he is taking a huge risk. If Mickey and the Celtics do agree to the one- year tender he will have a lot riding on his rookie season performance.
