According to Boston Globe's Gary Washburn, the Boston Celtics will waive Phil Pressey today at the deadline before his contract for this season becomes guaranteed.
Pressey, who went undrafted two years ago, has been the Celtics third string point guard in the past two seasons, with the occasional call to play more than garbage minutes and sometimes even be the starter.
During his tenure with the Celtics he has been praised by head coach Brad Stevens for his professional approach, always bringing energy on both offense and defense. In many ways he is the perfect 12th player on the roster.
He is more of a playmaker for others than a scorer with a TS% at 41.6 over the two seasons, while he has averaged 7.4 assists/36 minutes. Per game he has averaged 3.1 points and 2.9 assists over 13.9 minutes. Especially in his first season he had outbursts when given the chance with five games where he had 10+ assists, including two double-doubles.
A guard-loaded roster in Boston pushed Pressey out:
Pressey could have been a piece in the announced trade for Golden State Warriors' David Lee, but since that trade – for some reason – hasn't happened yet, it seems logical that the Celtics let him go today. The Celtics roster is loaded with guards, even more-so after they drafted three guards this summer, including two possible playmakers in Terry Rozier, whose contract is guaranteed, and combo guard Marcus Thornton, who will possibly be stashed either in the Celtics' D-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws, or somewhere in Europe.
Pressey had planned to play a couple of games for the Celtics in Summer League to make a final impression before the deadline, but when it was announced that he wouldn't join the team after all, it seemed inevitable that he would leave Boston.
It remains to be seen whether Pressey can catch on to another team right away, but there are plenty in need of what he brings to the table, simply because it's hard to find players who thrive under the conditions of being a third stringer.
