Dwight Powell to make the team

Stanford University product Dwight Powell Photo: ESPN

Though he hasn't played a single regular season NBA game, Dwight Powell is already with his third NBA team. CSNNE editor Jimmy Toscano reports that Powell will make the team, to Brad Stevens' pleasure:

"I have a pretty good feel for Dwight," Stevens said. "Played him twice in college. Thought he was a pro prospect first time I watched him warm up. Just a heck of an athlete. Live body, had some skill to him. I think we've learned a lot about him."

Stevens sympathized with the 45th draft pick who was drafted by Charlotte before being flipped to Cleveland, and then to Boston:

"He had the disadvantage of basically flying in and starting training camp. That'd be really difficult to do when you're a rookie. He's done a really good job. We've bounced him back and forth between the three and the four . . . I think we've got a pretty good idea of what he can do. But the bottom line is he's got a bright future ahead of him and he's got a lot of room for growth."

Expectedly, Powell was happy to hear Stevens' praise for his college game:

"It means a lot to hear that coming from someone with his stature," Powell said. "It's good to hear."

Stevens was not the only one to praise Powell's game, as Sullinger noted the rookie's defense:

"Like everybody [at the start of their careers] he's a rookie coming into this league just trying to find a niche," Jared Sullinger said. "I think he hangs his hat on defense. He has a little bit of similarities to Gerald [Wallace] as he plays on defense; very intense, very into the ball, plays hard, wants to rebound, plays physical. He's a good guy."

Though it is unlikely that the Stanford product will find meaningful minutes any time soon, he remains a developing project with some fun potential at 6'10, 240 lbs. One of several Celtics story lines, it will be interesting to see if Powell can make a name for himself in the 2014-2015 season.