REPORT: Denzel Valentine signs one-year deal with reigning NBL champions

REPORT: Denzel Valentine signs one-year deal with reigning NBL champions

A Michigan State basketball legend is heading down under. On Saturday, it was reported by Olgun Uluc of ESPN that Denzel Valentine has signed a one-year contract with the Sydney Kings of the NBL, the top men’s professional basketball league in Australia and New Zealand.

The Kings have won the NBL Grand Final the last two seasons and are the reigning NBL champions. Valentine will suit up next to former Michigan Wolverine and reigning Grand Final MVP Derrick Walton.

Valentine bounced around the NBA and G-League the last few seasons after having one breakout year with the Chicago Bulls back in 2017-18, where he averaged 10.2 points per game and started nearly half the season for the Bulls. Unfortunately, Valentine had multiple serious injuries in his left leg and ankle and never quite looked the same as he did for a brief window that season.

The move to the NBL will give Valentine, who is still just 29, a chance at a second career in a very competitive and fun league.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Andrew Brewster on Twitter @IAmBrewster.

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Denzel Valentine gets 25 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists with Maine Celtics vs. South Bay Lakers

Boston Celtics G League affiliate player Denzel Valentine has been hooping it up in Portland with the Maine Celtics this season.

Boston Celtics G League affiliate player Denzel Valentine has been hooping it up in Portland with the Maine Celtics this season. In the recent G League Showcase Cup, the Michigan native put up 25 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal in just under 37 minutes of floor time as Maine beat the top-seeded South Bay Lakers, 112-106.

Valentine shot 9-of-14 from the floor, a sizzling 5-of-8 from beyond the arc, and 1-of-1 from the charity stripe with 2 turnovers and 1 personal fouls in Maine’s win over South Bay.

If you want to see how the Michigan State alumnus did with the Celtics’ G League affiliate in the Showcase Cup, be sure to take a look at the clip embedded below, courtesy of the Maine Celtics’ YouTube channel.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Six Boston Celtics alumni ink new deals with G League teams

No longer seen as the land of outcasts it once was but as more of a viable path into — or back into — the NBA, players are also much better compensated for their play.

A number of former Boston Celtics training camp invitees and other alumni officially found new homes for the season in the NBA’s G League on various different ball clubs within it, per HoopsHype’s Alberto De Roa.

No longer seen as the land of outcasts it once was but as more of a viable path into — or back into — the NBA, players are also much better compensated for their play at the G League level than they once were, adding to the attraction while putting themselves in the developmental pipelines of Association ball clubs in ways playing overseas in Europe, China, or Australia can’t match.

Let’s take a look at who went where.

Report: After Samanic, Valentine, Reeves and Kissoonnlal Maine Celtics offers, Boston plans to add another player to G League affiliate

Having also signed several players to Exhibit-10 deals, the Celtics reportedly also plan to add another player to Maine’s roster.

The Boston Celtics have been making moves to finalize their regular-season roster ahead of the opener on Oct. 18 against the Philadelphia 76ers. Per reporting from the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach, they have also been lining up players for their G League affiliate, the Maine Celtics, for the 2022-23 campaign.

Per Himmelsbach, both Luka Samanic and Denzel Valentine are set to join the team’s Portland-based G League affiliate with a $50,000 bonus awaiting them if they spend at least 60 days with the Maine Celtics. Recently waived wing Brodric Thomas will not join the Maine Celtics; Boston does not hold his draft rights.

Having also added both Roxbury native AJ Reeves and big man Reggie Kissoonlal to Maine’s roster, the Celtics reportedly also plan to add another player via the Exhibit-10 contract that creates the $50,000 bonus for sticking with the team.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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Boston reportedly cuts training camp invitee Denzel Valentine after Blake Griffin news

The Lansing native never got a chance to suit up for Boston in his time with the Maine Celtics.

The Boston Celtics reportedly cut camp invitee Denzel Valentine to make room for their signing of veteran big man Blake Griffin, according to new reporting from The Athletic NBA insiders Jared Weiss and Shams Charania.

Valentine played for the Maine Celtics (Boston’s G League affiliate) at the end of the 2021-22 season after a 10-day deal with the Utah Jazz did not work out. He was among six training camp invitees hoping to make the Celtics’ 2022-23 roster. But with a fairly stacked backcourt rotation and further injuries to the team’s frontcourt rotation, a decision on his future with the team may have been made by events outside of the Michigan State product’s control with the team at the offseason maximum of 20 players.

The Lansing native never had a chance to suit up for Boston in his time with the Maine Celtics, but he averaged 14.6 points, 10.3 rebounds, 7 assists, and 1.1 steals per game while with the Portland-based G League squad.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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Boston Celtics release FULL 2022-23 preseason roster

These are all 20 players who will be on the Celtics’ roster heading into preseason.

The Boston Celtics have officially released their full training camp roster for the 2022-23 NBA season, with the team currently at a total of 20 players on it — the maximum allowed in an offseason per league rules.

The league has Celtics preseason exhibition games scheduled against the Charlotte Hornets (Sunday, Oct. 12 at 1 pm ET and Friday, Oct. 7 at 7:30 pm ET) and the Toronto Raptors (Wednesday, Oct. 5 at 7:30 pm ET and Friday, Oct. 14 at 7 pm ET), with the last of the four friendlies scheduled to take place in Montreal, Quebec, Canada as part of the NBA Canada series making a return.

Let’s take a look at all of the players who will be on Boston’s roster at the start of preseason play to kick off the month of October and a return to NBA basketball.

Which camp invitees might actually make the Boston Celtics’ 2022-23 roster?

Bruno Caboclo, Noah Vonleh, Justin Jackson, Denzel Valentine, Jake Layman, and Brodric Thomas all might find themselves a part of the Celtics run at an NBA title this season with the right kind of effort in camp.

Which of the six unguaranteed contracts signed by as many prospective additions to the Boston Celtics roster for the 2022-23 regular season will be converted into a deal that will last longer than opening night? The Celtics brought on six players to compete in training camp for up to three regular roster slots (or perhaps a two way if one opens and they are eligible).

Bruno Caboclo, Noah Vonleh, Justin Jackson, Denzel Valentine, Jake Layman, and Brodric Thomas all might find themselves a part of the Celtics run at an NBA title this season with the right kind of effort in camp. Which of them has the best shot of actually making the team?

The host of the CLNS Media “Winning Plays” podcast Brian Robb recently debated this question with guest Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear the conclusions they came to.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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All six players at the Boston Celtics training camp on non-guaranteed deals

Expected to be an intense competition due to the fact that the prospects are competing for a real role with the team, Boston has between one and three roster spots they could be invited to fill.

The Boston Celtics appear to have their 2022 training camp roster set, with a total of six players having been invited to join the players the Celtics already have on their roster as regular or two way players.

The team has a need to help fill minutes for its wing, forward, and center roles this season with a dearth of proven players in the frontcourt compounded by an injury to veteran swingman Danilo Gallinari that is likely to keep him out all of this coming season. Expected to be an intense competition due to the fact that the prospects are competing for a real role with the team, Boston has between one and three roster spots they could be invited to fill.

Let’s take a look at the prospects who will take part in the Celtics’ training camp this season on non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contracts.

Denzel Valentine reportedly signs Exhibit 10 training camp deal with Boston Celtics

Earlier reporting connecting Valentine to the Celtics appears to have been spot on.

The rumored camp invite for unrestricted free agent wing Denzel Valentine is official according to recent reporting from The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

The former Michigan State player was connected to the Boston Celtics in a training camp capacity earlier this month by a report from a local TV station in Lansing, Michigan. Now Charania has related the former Maine Celtic has signed an Exhibit 10 training camp deal.

Valentine was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 14th pick of the 2016 NBA draft and played parts of four seasons with that team. He signed a multi-year deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2021, only to be traded to the New York Knicks as part of a three-team trade. The Lansing native was waived soon after.

After a short stint with the Utah Jazz, Valentine landed in Maine with Boston’s G League team, where he finished the 2021-22 NBA season.

A career 36% shot from beyond the arc who has struggled to play a larger role at the NBA level, Valentine will be motivated to make Boston’s roster as a deep rotation option on the wing, one of the only areas of arguable weakness for the Celtics along with frontcourt depth.

Check out the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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Boston Celtics reportedly sign former No. 16 pick Denzel Valentine to camp deal

A career 36% 3-point shooter, Valentine has yet to do well in a large role but has shown some promise coming off of the bench.

The Boston Celtics are reportedly signing former Maine Celtics wing Denzel Valentine to a camp deal, according to WILX’s Tim Staudt. A native of Lansing, Michigan, Valentine was the No. 14 pick by the Chicago Bulls of the 2016 NBA draft but has struggled at the next level after a successful collegiate career with Michigan State.

Valentine spent the first five seasons of his career with the Bulls. He signed a deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers at the start of last season and was dealt to the New York Knicks as part of a three-team trade. Cut by New York soon after, the former Spartan standout latched on to the Maine Celtics in the hopes of earning time with the Celtics.

That did not happen last season, but could materialize now as Boston looks to bolster its wing depth with one of three open regular roster spots the team has yet to fill.

A career 36% 3-point shooter, Valentine has not yet done well in a large role, but he has shown some promise coming off of the bench as a depth option. Given that is the role he would likely have with the Celtics, it seems he has a solid shot at making the roster.

At age 29, he may have the upside of younger camp participants working against him, but showing he still has a reliable shot from deep could be enough to make Valentine a Celtic come opening night.

Check out the Celtics Lab podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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