The Boston Celtics have had an extremely active offseason, as they look to take another step forward after shocking everyone and made the playoffs last season. The Celtics' current roster is at 16 players as we head into training camp, which is one more than the amount that can make the team out of camp. Reports released on Wednesday were that Perry Jones is the favorite to be cut after training camp to bring the roster down to 15.
Despite these rumors, rookie Levi Randolph has reportedly decided to turn down an offer to play for Vuelle Pesaro and will join the Celtics training camp to try and make their roster or somebody else's, according to Sportando. Reports are that Randolph has virtually no chance of making the Celtics roster out of training camp, but there is a chance he can latch on with their D-League team, the Maine Red Claws, according to Nick Borges of ESPN.com.
Randolph played four seasons at the University of Alabama and increased his production in almost every category every season. In his senior season, Randolph averaged 15.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game while shooting 48 percent from the field and 35 percent from three. Randolph also led all SEC players in offensive win shares last season with 4.4, which proves that he is a talented offensive player.
Randolph is 6-foot-5, which is a pretty good size for an NBA shooting guard, and he has always played well above average defense. The fact that Randolph improved in every single season at school bodes well for him because it means he is willing to work on his game and get better at things he knows he needs help with. His senior season was his first averaging double figures, and that's because his usage rate went up. The fact that he took more shots didn't hurt his shooting percentage at all. In fact, his shooting percentage went from 42 to 48 from his junior year to his senior year.
Randolph likely isn't ready to make an NBA team at this point in his career, but that is his ultimate goal. He turned down an opportunity overseas so that he has a chance to impress NBA people. Randolph has improved every year since his freshman year of college, so who knows what one year in the D-League will do for his development. Maybe this time next year we will be talking about Levi Randolph making an NBA roster out of training camp.
