Celtics sign 2nd-round pick Semi Ojeleye
Semi Ojeleye is officially a member of the Boston Celtics after signing a deal with the team earlier today:
Celtics make it official with @SemiOjeleye pic.twitter.com/UHsAtmEdWO— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) July 18, 2017
Most experts have Ojeleye as one of the biggest steals in the 2017 NBA Draft as he somehow slipped to 37th overall after being projected as high as 20 and closer to that spot on most draft boards. He's impressed thus far with his play in summer league and coach Brad Stevens is on the record as thrilled with the possibilities given his versatility. Semi is both a strong and athletic 3-and-D player that can play either forward spot and has some upside in terms of his scoring prowess.
Stevens was quoted with some strong comments about Ojeleye's defense before he's even logged real NBA minutes:
Stevens on Ojeleye: "His flexibility defensively is going to be enormous." Says he can be one of C's better defenders right out of the gate.— Boston Celtics (@celtics) July 12, 2017
Although the press release neglects to mention the details of Ojeleye's deal it's been reported that the Celtics were going to use their remaining cap space to ink him to a multiyear deal in the same vein they have recently with previous draft selections:
The Celtics are planning to sign rookie forward Semi Ojeleye to a four-year deal, first two years guaranteed, per league source.— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) July 15, 2017
Ojeleye's brother snapped a photo of Semi putting ink on the deal earlier today:
My brother is officially signed with the @celtics All praises to God! ☝🏾@SemiOjeleye #nba #dreamsdocometrue #hardworkpaysoff pic.twitter.com/JI82aRGjPh— Victor Ojeleye (@VictorOjeleye) July 18, 2017
I'm excited the Celtics managed to snag Ojeleye so late given that he projects to be at worst a solid NBA defender who can knock down threes. There's always plenty of room for guys with that skillset.
Follow Mark on Twitter: @MarkAL401
