Although very limited financially this offseason, the Boston Celtics continue to explore any and all avenues to improve their title-defending roster’s depth with less than six weeks remaining until Opening Night.
The Celtics on Wednesday signed Jordan Schakel to an Exhibit 10 contract, per Bobby Manning of CelticsBlog, giving the 26-year-old an audition for a roster spot in training camp. That marks the second consecutive Exhibit 10 contract handed out by Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens, who agreed to identical terms with four-year veteran guard Lonnie Walker IV in August.
Schakel, a San Diego State product, went undrafted in 2021 and eventually landed a contract with the Washington Wizards following two Summer League stops with the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings. He didn’t get much of an opportunity to showcase in Washington, only managing to rummage six NBA appearances in the last three seasons, averaging 1.3 points on 28.6% from 3-point range before spending time this past summer playing in Puerto Rico for Leones de Ponce.
Boston gave Schakel a shot last season with its G League affiliate, the Maine Celtics, allowing the journeyman to average 13.0 points and 5.2 rebounds on 40.2% shooting from three on 7.3 attempts through 11 games. However, in January, Schakel suffered a season-ending knee injury, which prevented him from contributing to Maine’s thrilling run to the G League Finals against the Oklahoma City Blue.
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Schakel established himself as one of the most elite Division I college shooting threats with the Aztecs, draining 225 career 3-pointers across four seasons, ranking third in San Diego State’s history. He finished shooting 42.7% from beyond the arc, logged the highest-recorded free-throw percentage (87%) in Aztecs history, and averaged 14.4 points on 9.8 field goal attempts during his final collegiate campaign in 2020-21.
The reigning champion Celtics will begin training camp on Sept. 25.
Baxter Holmes, ESPN Senior WriterNov 13, 2024, 10:39 PM ETCloseBaxter Holmes (@Baxter) is a senior writer for ESPN Digital and Print, focusing on the NBA. He ha
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