Boston Celtics rookie two way point guard Tremont Waters is turning heads, and not just those attached to the bodies of hopeful fans of the Massachusetts franchise.
With several gaudy performances with the Maine Red Claws already under his belt, including 27 points, 9 assists and 5 steals against the Canton Charge at the Las Vegas Winter G League Showcase and a 7-point, 3-assist, 2-block outing with the parent club against the Sacramento Kings Nov. 25th, rival general managers are taking note as well.
“He’s an NBA backup point guard right now. I told my GM to trade for him because he’s better than what we have right now,” said an anonymous scout regarding Waters’ play at the showcase reports Yahoo Sports’ Keith Smith.
Averaging 20.1 points, 3.2 boards and 7.5 assists per game with the Claws in his inaugural season, those rival executives may have a point.
One last name that came up repeatedly talking to front office executives and scouts about the G-League Showcase: Tremont Waters. Water is on a Two-Way with Boston.
"He's an NBA backup PG right now. I told our GM to trade for him, because he's better than what we have today."
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) December 23, 2019
With seven rookies joining the team this offseason, Boston has had an embarrassment of riches as far as draft luck is concerned, with every player taken in 2019 having contributed significant minutes already this season.
In fact, their most popular rookie, Tacko Fall, went undrafted, and has been more than a passing fixation with his steady development.
The Celtics’ good fortune with its draft class has mostly gone under the radar nationally while the development of their two young wings — Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum — the resurgence of forward Gordon Hayward and a cavalcade of injuries has dominated the news cycle covering the team.
the reigning #NBAGLeague Player of the Month showed out once again đź’Ż #2WayPlayer Tremont Waters
28 PTS | 5 REB | 4 AST | 3 STL | 3 👌@LSUBasketball ↗️ @maineredclaws ↔️ @celtics pic.twitter.com/ZcC7ARHJC1
— NBA G League (@nbagleague) December 16, 2019
But it’s getting harder to hide just how much talent the team may have walked away from the 2019 NBA Draft with, and Waters’ steady hand and clear court vision may be among their best steals.
What the future holds with the Connecticut native with the Celtics is probably a long way of from being determined.
But if he keeps up this pace of growth as a prospect, you can bet we’ll be seeing more of the LSU product at the NBA level, whether with Boston, or some other team.