Boston Celtics Summer League Roster

In continuing the series of spending way too much time telling you more than you need to know about players that don't have NBA contracts, I present the Boston Celtics Summer League roster in excruciating detail.

For the rest of the Orlando Pro Summer League rosters, refer to this constantly updating post.

For the Vegas Summer League rosters, refer to this post.

Other entries thus far in the series include: New Jersey Nets, Utah Jazz, Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic, Indiana Pacers.

For your reference, I won't be talking about Luke Harangody, Tony Gaffney, former D-Leaguer Oliver Lafayette or Semih Erden - they're already property of the Celtics so you should be able to learn everything you need to know about them over at CelticsBlog.

I'm going to list the players by position, then how likely it is that they'll appear on any NBA roster next season.

Also, what's up with the numbers and the fact that eight of their invites are white dudes?

Bigs

Artsiom Parakhouski, C, Radford - You know why I love writing about not-quite-NBA-players?  I can write about a Belarusian named Art who began his college career at Southern Idaho Junior College and then transferred to the more-heralded Radford Highlanders - and it's in a positive light.

Parakhouski is pretty solid around the basket and he's got some moves in the post.  He's also an above-average rebounder and shotblocker, but he severely lacks elite athleticism and experience against top-level talent (which you would probably assume since he played in the Big South).

Still, it's not every day that legitimate big men that can rebound and block shots come into the NBA.  And, with just five(ish) years of basketball playing experience, Big Art could have some Ridiculous Upside.

Vyacheslav Kravstov, C, Ukraine - Fun fact about Kravstov: the Celtics misspelled his last name as far as I can tell.  It seems to be spelled Kravtsov.

I'm not going to pretend I know everything I need to know about Kravtsov (because I know nothing about him), but this "outlook" from Eurobasket seems to sum him up: "A tough inside operator, who plays very hard and can bang with any opponent. Needs to improve some of his technical skills, but doesn' t need to learn how to fight."  It's always good when you don't need to teach a guy how to fight.

Anyway, Kravtsov has played for BC Kyiv in Ukraine since 2005 and seems to have improved each season.  This past season, the 7-footer averaged 14.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and a league-leading 2.7 blocks per game while shooting a ridiculous 70.4% from the field.

Honestly, I'm a little surprised he wasn't drafted last year because physical 7-footers that can block shots and have the ability to be stashed overseas are usually en vogue.

DeShawn Sims, PF, Michigan - Sims might not belong with the bigs, technically, since he measured in at under 6-foot-7 at the Portsmouth Invitational.  But, there's no way I could see him playing on the wing in the NBA, so here is where he's going to end up.

A four-year player at Michigan, Sims averaged a pretty impressive 16.8 points and 7.6 rebounds his senior year for the Wolverines while relying on a pretty versatile offensive game that includes everything from a back-to-the-basket fadeaway jumper to a meddling three-point shot.

If he's able to play as hard with the Celtics as he should have at Michigan, there's a chance he could make the leap as undersized-college-power-forward to whatever-Marcus-Landry-was-for-the-Celtics.

Wings

Ryan Wittman, SF, Cornell - Wittman is the prototype coach's son - great shooter, smart player, good leader and able to help everyone else on the team get better.  That actually makes sense because Wittman is the son of NBA coach Randy Wittman (I believe most recently as head coach in Minnesota?).

Here's the problem with Wittman - he's wholly unathletic.  He'll give it his best, but unfortunately he just won't have the lateral quickness and strength to guard most small forwards in the NBA.

Pluses and minuses aside, Wittman will probably have a long professional basketball playing career - though it might not be in the NBA, as he has already been rumored to have a deal set up in Switzerland.

Ryan Thompson, SG/SF, Rider - The Celtics apparently took a Family Ties approach while recruiting their Summer League wings as Thompson also has a relative with NBA experience - Sacramento big man Jason Thompson.

Thompson was pretty much not on the NBA radar until a standout performance at the Portsmouth Invitational when he took the (NCAA senior scouting) basketball world by storm.  In one game, Thompson had 37 points, four assists and zero turnovers. Those types of possible-flash-in-the-pan performances usually worry me - and players standing against subpar competition is what made his brother a lottery pick.

Also playing: Sacramento Kings, Vegas.

Guards

JayCee Carroll, SG/PG, Utah State - Carroll is primarily a sweet-shooting guard, but with the way the Celtics Summer League roster is set up I'm sure he'll get a chance to show he can run the point as well.

The last time I saw Carroll play live was, coincidentally, the last game of the Vegas Summer League last season (he played for the New Orleans Hornets) - and I remember the triple-overtime affair quite vividly.  In that game, Carroll got the start and scored 22 points while shooting 9-of-20 from the field and adding eight boards and two steals.

I was surprised he chose to play overseas this past season, but the stats (and the paychecks, I assume) indicate that it worked out just fine.  In 50 games for Gran Canaria, Carroll averaged 17.7 points between the Eurocup and the Spanish League - with his 18.8 scoring average leading a rather competitive Spanish League.

Rodney Green, G/F, LaSalle - Rodney Green insists he's a big point guard, but Draft Express says "Green plays the point guard position for the Explorers, but is hardly a conventional playmaker, spending a good deal of time off the ball and not doing much to create for others in La Salle’s team-oriented offense. Green projects as more of a shooting guard at the next level."

Interestingly enough, and I haven't actually watched him play (might need Michael Levin's help on this one), but he sounds a lot like fellow Celtic Summer Leaguer Oliver Lafayette - not really a point guard, but can get by and is a pretty good defender.

Either way, I don't expect him to be on an NBA roster next season - but the D-League might not be a bad way to go.