Jayson Tatum, a three-time All-NBA First Team member, and assistant coach Amile Jefferson celebrated their first NBA title in Boston on Friday.
Nobody in the world of basketball feels better than former Duke basketball stars [autotag]Jayson Tatum[/autotag] and [autotag]Amile Jefferson[/autotag].
Tatum and the Celtics, with Jefferson on the sidelines as an assistant coach, won the NBA Finals for the first time since 2008 on Monday night. Tatum and Jefferson each picked up their first championship ring with the victory, and the team hosted a victory parade in Boston on Friday.
Tatum, now one of eight Duke basketball alums with an NBA championship on his playing resume, posted a short video to his social media accounts of him atop one of the buses during the parade.
After showing the Celtics fans below and the Larry O’Brien Trophy under his arm, Tatum turned to show his teammates and their guests. Jefferson was standing right next to him, notably perking up when he noticed Tatum recording.
The duo played together during the 2016-17 season in Durham, Tatum’s one and only year in a Duke uniform and Jefferson’s redshirt senior year.
Amile Jefferson, who won the 2015 national championship and holds the Duke record for games played, got another ring on Monday.
Former Duke basketball star [autotag]Amile Jefferson[/autotag] won another championship on Monday night.
Nine years after Jefferson helped the Blue Devils cut down the nets in 2015, he helped [autotag]Jayson Tatum[/autotag] and the Celtics win their first championship since 2008 in the NBA Finals.
This time, however, Jefferson did it with a clipboard, working as an assistant coach. After he spent the 2022-23 season as an assistant coach for Jon Scheyer at his alma mater, he joined the Celtics ahead of this past season.
The former Blue Devil star played five seasons in Durham, and his 150 games played remain a school record. Jefferson also sits 11th in career rebounds and eighth in blocks, and he averaged 10.9 points and 8.4 rebounds per game in his redshirt senior season.
Jefferson and Tatum actually played a season together at Duke in 2016-17, winning the ACC Tournament.
Amile Jefferson, who won a national title with the Duke in 2015, seeks another title alongside fellow former Blue Devil Jayson Tatum.
[autotag]Jayson Tatum[/autotag] isn’t the only former Blue Devil trying to win a ring with the Boston Celtics in the upcoming NBA Finals.
Amile Jefferson, who helped Duke win its most recent national title in 2015, joined Boston’s coaching staff as an assistant this season.
The 6-foot-9 forward spent five years with the Coach K in the Duke program and played 150 games, the most of any Blue Devil ever. In his last year with the Blue Devils, he averaged 10.9 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks.
After a brief NBA career with the Orlando Magic, Jefferson returned to Durham in 2021 to serve as the Director of Player Development. Jon Scheyer promoted him to assistant coach in his first season at the helm, and Jefferson spent one season there before returning to the NBA.
Jefferson and Tatum played together during the latter’s lone season in Durham, which was Jefferson’s redshirt senior campaign. The two clearly remain close, as seen by their embrace after clinching the Eastern Conference.
Jayson Tatum & Amile Jeffersonâs friendship is dope.
To fellow Blue Devil alum Amile Jefferson — now an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics — Duke teammate Jayson Tatum was always going to make it into the NBA. Jefferson, reunited with Tatum in a different role, spoke with the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach for a recent interview in which he shed some light on Tatum’s formative season as a college prospect.
“He was super physical, and you donât really find freshmen that seek out the contact,” explained the Celtics assistant. “Like, he would go into peopleâs bodies. Heâd pull you in, he wanted to get hit, and he knew how to do all those things. He was advanced.”
The St. Louis native would reportedly get peeved about any kind of loss — even in practices. “Practice reps, shooting competitions, one-on-ones, a race,” explained Jefferson.
“He was ultra-competitive and wanted to win anything. I think thatâs an early sign, but a really good sign of a player who you know is going to bring it every day.”
“I always admire guys who hate losing more than they love winning,” added Jefferson.
Former Duke teammate of star Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum and current Celtics assistant coach Amile Jefferson recently opened up about departing his alma mater to join Boston’s bench behind head coach Joe Mazzulla and a reunion with the St. Louis native he played with as a Blue Devil in the 2016-17 NCAA season. “This opportunity with the Boston Celtics was something that felt like the right next step in my journey,” said Jefferson via SB Nation’s JD King.
“The Celtics are one of the most elite professional franchises in sports,” related the Philadelphia native of his new employer. “Iâm honored to be able to learn from everyone in this organization.”
“I wish our guys at Duke all the best, and I know great things are in store for (Duke Men’s Basketball head coach) Jon (Scheyer) and the program,” closed Jefferson.
Like Scheyer, Jefferson’s rapid rise through the Duke program’s hierarchy portends a great future on this side of the clipboard, and his addition to Boston’s bench is much more than a favor to Tatum.
Per 247 Sports, Jefferson “is finalizing a multi-year deal” to join the Celtics’ bench after a swift rise through the coaching ranks at Duke.
Duke assistant coach and former Blue Devils teammate of Jayson TatumAmile Jefferson is reportedly leaving his job on his alma mater’s bench to join that of the Boston Celtics under head coach Joe Mazzulla according to new reporting from 247 Sports’ Travis Branham.
Per Branham, Jefferson “is finalizing a multi-year deal” to join the Celtics’ bench after a swift rise through the coaching ranks at Duke. Jefferson had a four-year professional career as a player after his time with the Blue Devils in which he won a national title in 2015, one which briefly had him sign with the Celtics on an Exhibit-10 deal in 2020, though he never appeared in any games for Boston.
Jefferson also suited up for the Orlando Magic and the NBA G-Leagueâs Iowa Wolves before joining Duke as their director of player development, from which he quickly was promoted to an assistant with the team.
The 2023 NBA draft could be key to any big moves made by Boston or they could have a quiet night picking No. 35; we explore that range. https://t.co/YCngSc2VuM
Jefferson played at Duke between 2012 and 2017, overlapping with Tatum in his final season at the North Carolina university before going undrafted and spending time in the NBA’s G League. He would then play two seasons for the Orlando Magic as a two way player before signing an Exhibit 10 contract with the Celtics in the pandemic-shortened 2020 offseason.
Jefferson did not stick with the team, and played a short stint overseas in the Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL) with Galatasaray S.K. before landing his most current gig with the Blue Devils.
WATCH: How can the Boston Celtics take the next step towards winning a title? https://t.co/90oArY3D95
The Amile Jefferson era has come to an end in Boston.
Boston Celtics forward Amile Jefferson has been waived by the team after two weeks with the team on an exhibit-10 contract after appearing in just one of the Celtics’ two preseason contests, per multiple sources.
Whether the former Duke Blue Devil got the deal because of what the team thinks he can become, his ties to Jayson Tatum or both, the Philadelphia native is now free to sign wherever he chooses, given the likely $50,000 bonus he’d normally get from the team after 60 days with their G League affiliate may be unattainable with the developmental league’s season in flux.
The Celtics are releasing PF Amile Jefferson, source tells @TheAthleticNBA.
The final move needed by the team to bring its offseason roster to the regular season limit of 17 total players counting two way deals, the team can now turn its full attention to preparing the players under contract for the coming season.
The Celtics face the Milwaukee Bucks to start the 2020-21 season on Dec. 23rd at 7:30 pm ET.
The Celtics have reportedly signed former Duke teammate of Jayson Tatum Amile Jefferson to an exhibit-10 deal.
The Boston Celtics have reportedly signed former Duke big man Amile Jefferson to an exhibit-10 contract. according to The Athletic’s Jay King.
Jefferson was a teammate of All-NBA Celtic wing Jayson Tatum in his sole season with the Blue Devils reports Forbes Sports’ Chris Grenham, which may have had at least a small role in Jefferson getting the camp deal.
For the uninitiated, exhibit-10 deals are yearlong deals at league minimum with a special clause in them that is usually the reason they are granted.
They may be used to sign a player outright for the coming season if it’s deemed expedient, but they also have two other uses.
Jefferson is close with Jayson Tatum – was a senior at Duke during Tatumâs lone season in Durham. https://t.co/psKnoyDEDr
The first is that the deal can also be converted into a two way deal, and the other option is that it will grant a player a $50,000 bonus if they sign with the team’s G League affiliate and play at least 60 days with the club.
In Jefferson’s case, it is almost certainly for the latter given he went undrafted in the 2017 NBA draft, and has averaged just 1.4 points and 1.5 rebounds per game with the Orlando Magic over the last two seasons.
Given Tatum was on social media calling for teams to sign his fellow Duke alumnus last week, it could very well be that the front office is simply doing their star player a favor.
But, it’s also possible they like his game well enough they’d prefer to have his affiliate rights through the Maine Red Claws this season with a waived exhibit-10 deal.
The NBA will allow teams to sign a replacement player if there’s an injury, a positive COVID-19 test or a player who chooses to sit out.
As the NBA prepares to resume the 2019-20 season in July, more details about the leagueâs plan are coming to light. In the event of an injury or a positive COVID-19 test during training camp or the regular season, teams will be able to sign replacement players from the free-agent pool.Â
The NBA will allow each team to bring 17 players (including their two-way guys) to Disneyâs Wide World of Sports. There wonât be a limit on how many replacement players a team can sign, according to ESPNâs Adrian Wojnarowski. Once the playoffs start on August 17, teams wonât be able to add any replacement players.Â
Every night, players will be tested for COVID-19; if a player tests positive, they must self-quarantine for 10-14 days while their team continues playing.
Not only will replacement players be necessary in the event of positive tests, they also could be called upon if a player is injured. Most teams will arrive in Orlando healthier than usual at this point in the season thanks to the four-month break, but a number of trainers and players have expressed concern that there could be more injuries than usual when the season resumes. After all, players have been working out on their own since mid-March and itâs hard to mimic game movements and intensity while training alone. Ramping back up slowly with a training camp (and potentially two or three exhibition games) should help, but thereâs still increased injury risk.Â
Because this is an unprecedented situation, people around the NBA have no idea how teams will approach this transaction window and how many replacement players will be signed.
âIâm not sure if teams will rush to sign guys,â an agent said. âNBA rosters are already the biggest of any major sport in terms of the ratio of players on the roster to players on the court/field,â the agent explained. âIn the NBA, itâs 15:5 (or 3:1) whereas itâs 25:9 (or 2.8:1) in MLB and 53:22 (or 2.4:1) in the NFL. And that doesnât even include two-way players. Iâm sure every team is aware of all the available G League guys and free agents. But in the playoffs, most rotations shrink to nine or 10 guys anyway. So, if you have 15 players, you should have five extra guys.â
âIâm curious to see if teams will sign free agents,â one Western Conference executive added. âI have no idea what will happen. At the end of the day, weâre just talking about a 15th man most likely, right?âÂ
One Eastern Conference general manager pointed out that some teams may not consider signing replacement players at all, even if there is an injury or a positive COVID-19 test. Since a replacement player would have to quarantine for 10-14 days before playing, the teamâs injured or sick player may be close to returning by the time the replacement player is finally able to take the court.
âI think as long as a team doesnât have multiple players who get sick at the same time, they wonât sign anyone,â the general manager said. âI think most teams will just wait for their sick player to return.âÂ
Some NBA teams with an open roster spot may decide to sign a free agent prior to arriving in Orlando rather than waiting until an injury or positive test occurs to address their depth. Technically, this player wouldnât be a âreplacement player,â but heâd be stashed on their roster in case of emergency. This would allow the player to go through training camp with the team as well as the initial quarantine period in Orlando. Then, if there is an injury or positive test, he would be able to play right away rather than having to quarantine for 10-14 days upon arrival like a replacement player would have to do.
Recently, thereâs been a lot of discussion about how some players may choose not to play when the season resumes in Orlando. In recent weeks, a number of executives brought up this possibility and openly wondered what would happen if their players sit out because they didnât want to be in the bubble for months and risk their health. Now, some players are also concerned that resuming play would shift the publicâs focus away from the Black Lives Matter movement.
While itâs possible that enough NBA players speaking up would force the NBPA to back out of the plan to resume play, it seems more likely that the NBA will just allow each player to make their own decision when it comes to participating. If a player chooses to sit out, their team will resume play without them. These players wouldnât face any consequences (aside from not being paid) and NBA teams would be allowed to sign a replacement player to take their place, according to a recent article by Wojnarowski.Â
Thereâs also some concern that players on fringe playoff teams will opt to play, but then want to leave the bubble or sit out as soon as their team is mathematically eliminated from the postseason. Players wonât want to put their health at risk and stay in the bubble if they arenât playing for something. Some players (such as Damian Lillard) have already said that they wouldnât risk their health to participate in meaningless games, and who could blame them?
âI feel like the eighth seed and the ninth seed could partially be determined by whose schedule sets them up against teams who are âtankingâ at the end,â said one Western Conference executive.
DeMarcus Cousins is one of the free agents who’s eligible to be signed. (Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports)
Interestingly, not all free agents are eligible to be signed as replacement players.
In order to be eligible, a player had to be on an NBA or G League roster this season or last season. Players who were overseas as of March 11, 2020 (when the NBA season was suspended) are not eligible to be signed, which rules out some notable free agents such as Lance Stephenson, Donatas Motiejunas, Greg Monroe and Miles Plumlee. If a player started the season overseas but got a FIBA clearance before March 11, they are eligible to be signed as long as they were on an NBA or G League roster in 2019-20 or 2018-19 (like Willie Reed, for example, who was in Greece to start the season but then got his FIBA clearance and signed with a G League team).Â
There are plenty of of notable free agents and former G League players who are eligible to be signed including DeMarcus Cousins, Isaiah Thomas, Darren Collison, Jamal Crawford, Iman Shumpert, JR Smith, Nik Stauskas, Kenneth Faried, Tyler Zeller, Jerian Grant, Corey Brewer, Tyler Johnson, Jodie Meeks, Michael Beasley, Nick Young, Trey Burke, Allen Crabbe, Jordan Bell, Justin Anderson, Tim Frazier, Tyrone Wallace, Ivan Rabb, Jarrod Uthoff, Amile Jefferson, Jonah Bolden, Tyler Ennis, Josh Magette, JP Macura, Ryan Broekhoff and Yante Maten among others.
While itâll be interesting to see how the 22 NBA teams in the bubble utilize the replacement players, the eight teams who arenât resuming play will be allowed to sign players during this transaction window too. Donât be surprised if some of these teams take advantage of this opportunity to add a free agent and acquire their Bird rights.
âI would be on the lookout for a smart non-bubble team to add someone during the transaction window,â one NBA agent said. âAny team can sign guys from that same pool of talent and, I assume, pay guys the same pro-rated amount.âÂ
In Wojnarowskiâs article about replacement players, he confirmed that âthe eight teams left out of the Orlando resumption are allowed to waive or sign players during the transaction window,â although âthey cannot sign a player to a two-way contract.â
Itâs worth noting that a lot of these details are still being worked out and nothing is official as of yet. Several agents and executives pointed out that theyâre receiving these updates through social media, just like the rest of us, and awaiting further instruction from the league or NBPA.
