Celtics Sign Former Spurs 1st Round Pick to Contract

The Boston Celtics are signing a former first-round pick from the San Antonio Spurs for their training camp.

Around the NBA, teams are finalizing their 20-man rosters before training camp begins. The Boston Celtics used one of their spots to take a flyer on a former San Antonio Spurs first-round pick, Luka Samanic. 

Samanic was selected by the Spurs using the No. 19 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. During his two seasons in San Antonio, he ended up appearing in just 36 regular season games and logged a total of 356 minutes. 

"He's a really skilled player at a position that now is requiring great skill in our league," Spurs CEO RC Buford said after drafting Samanic. "He's got to tighten up his game. He's got to get better physically, but from a skill and talent standpoint, we felt like we were acquiring someone that would fit in with the development of a lot of our young guys." 

According to Bobby Manning of Boston Sports Journal, the Celtics are signing Samanic to a training camp deal. He last played as a member of the Westchester Knicks and appeared in seven games.

Sources to @CLNSMedia: #celtics to sign Luka Šamanić to a training camp deal. The 22-year-old, 6-10 Croatian forward last played for the Westchester Knicks and was the Spurs' No. 19 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.

27.9 PPG 10.6 RPG and 3.3 APG on 54.9% FG w/ WES.

— Bobby Manning (@RealBobManning) September 21, 2022

Samanic never ended up looking comfortable with the Spurs during game action. The team ultimately opted to go with alternative options, but wished him well in his NBA career.  

"Luka worked hard, he tried his best," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "These are always decisions that are difficult, when you have to tell somebody that you're gonna go with another player. We had that talk after the Orlando game, and wish him well. He's got a lot of skills, and hopefully it'll translate and he'll find a situation where those skills can be used. Hopefully he'll be able to stay in the league someplace."

The 6-foot-10 forward will have a chance to compete for the Celtics' final roster spot. With Robert Williams III and Danilo Gallinari both dealing with injuries, Boston would benefit from adding more frontcourt depth before the season. 

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