Abdel Nader is heading to New Orleans for the D-League All-Star game


Brad Stevens and Isaiah Thomas won't be the only two Celtics heading to New Orleans for All-Star Weekend. Abdel Nader has been having himself quite a season in the D-League, and was announced to be invited to represent the Maine Red Claws (and by extension the Celtics) in the NBA's development league All-Star game. He'll be joined by two of his Red Claw teammates in Jalen Jones and Marcus Georges-Hunt:


Nader has been one of the brightest young players in the D-league this season, he ranks 5th in scoring at 22.5 points per game - sitting right behind our old pal Jordan Crawford who's 4th. Abdel is certainly on the short list for D-League MVP as well. He's been a 5-tool player and has shown off his terrific athleticism for a 6'8 forward who can also stretch the floor with his outside shooting (38.6 percent from three).

Between Nader and the other two young guns who the Celtics have stashed overseas, Guerschon Yabusele and Ante Zizic, Danny Ainge is going to have some interesting decisions to make heading into next season. All three of them have been playing exceptionally well, and it'll be interesting to see how/if/when Danny is able to integrate those guys to the NBA roster.

Nader was the 58th pick in last summer's draft out of Iowa State, and so far it looks like Ainge may have found himself a gem at the end. If you haven't seen much of Nader here's the All-Star highlight video of him the NBA released just last night to give you an idea of what this kid can do:



The D-League All-Star Game is set for Saturday, February 18, 2017 @ 2:00 pm ET as part of NBA All-Star weekend in New Orleans.


Follow Mark on Twitter: @MarkAL401