Celtics give Summer League standout Jay Scrubb a two-way contract
Scrubb averaged 14.4 points per game over the Celtics' five Summer League contests.
The Celtics are starting to fill out the backend of their roster.
Jay Scrubb agreed to a two-way deal with the Celtics, the team announced Saturday.
Scrubb was one of the biggest standouts on the Celtics’ Summer League squad. The guard averaged 14.4 points per game over the five contests, which was the third-best on the team. He shot an efficient 46.3 percent from the field and 40 percent from deep.
Scrubb actually revealed to reporters Friday that he nearly signed a deal with the Celtics at the end of the last regular season. At the beginning of Summer League last weekend, Scrubb said in an interview with NBA TV that he “can compete with the best” and that we wanted “to show that I’m one of the best players here.”
Prior to the Celtics’ Summer League finale on Saturday, Scrubb remarked on what he showed in Summer League.
“I feel like it’s been great,” Scrubb said. “I’ve shown my versatility. Usually, I’m an on-ball scorer, but I think this summer league I’ve shown that I can play without the ball, knock down shots, create for teammates and take care of the ball.”
Scrubb had an unusual path to the NBA. The 22-year-old declared for the 2020 NBA Draft after two strong seasons at John A. Logan College, a community college in Carterville, Illinois. He was selected by the Clippers with the No. 55 overall pick, making him the first junior college player to be drafted since 2004.
Scrubb was on a two-way contract with the Clippers for the first two years of his career, appearing in 22 games with them before undergoing season-ending surgery to repair the plantar plate in his right foot in February 2022. He was released in the ensuing offseason.
Scrubb spent last season with the Orlando Magic, signing with their G League affiliate at the beginning of the season before signing a two-way deal with the team in March. They released Scrubb in June.
In 24 career NBA games, Scrubb has scored four points per game to go along with 1.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. He was a standout though in the G League last season, scoring 22.2 points per game.
With a two-way deal, Scrubb will split his time this upcoming season with the Celtics and their G League affiliate, the Maine Celtics. Scrubb can’t be on the Celtics’ active roster for more than 50 games and wouldn’t be eligible to be on the postseason roster unless he signed a standard deal.
Scrubb is the second player the Celtics’ have signed to a two-way deal so far this offseason. JD Davision signed a two-way deal earlier in July. The 2022 second-round pick spent last season on a two-way deal as well.
Following Scrubb’s signing, the Celtics have one more two-way spot available and they have an extra roster spot open. They already signed 2023 second-round pick Jordan Walsh to a standard contract and it appears they might be interested in a veteran guard for that last spot as they’ve reportedly shown interest in John Wall and Austin Rivers.
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