Charles Bassey still hopes to sign at Celtics, not planning abroad

Celtics Summer League -standing Center Charles Bassey is not going to play abroad next season, sources told Celtics blog. Several points of sale reported earlier that he is seriously considering signing at the Serbian club Partizan Belgrade, but he is currently planning to play in the NBA next season.

Bassey would especially like to draw with the Celtics when The opportunity introduced itself, says sources. How realistic that could be, can still be seen.

After waiting from JD Davison, the Celtics have an open grid place. But as the selection is currently, the signing of a 15th player would return them to the second apron, something the team actively worked to get below this low season.

Brad Stevens has been explicitly about this and noted that various movements outside the season – such as the Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis Trades – the result of the fines were related to the payroll of the team of more than $ 207.8 million.

“The second apron is why those transactions happened,” said Stevens. “I think that is pretty clear. And the basketball sentences that are associated with those are real.”

The Celtics currently have a fairly thin front Court, with Neemias Queta, Luka Garza and Xavier Tillman all in the mix. Queta, that Bobby Manning from Clns Media report The knee operation had out of season, it seems to be the likely starting center, while Garza and Tillman should play both rotation minutes.

Charles Bassey was a striking Summer League artist

Bassey, a 24-year-old center, was the most consistent player of the Celtics at Summer League, an average of 15.3 points and 11 rebounds per match (4 offensive). He shot 70.4% over three games, of which two were victories.

After he had made his Summer League debut with the Celtics, Bassey explained why he was attracted to join the Celtics, referring to his impressions of the players and coaches: “It’s just the culture.”

Bassey, who only played in four NBA seasons for one Playoff team, would be very attracted to the record of sustainable winning of the team.

“They go to the play -offs every year,” Bassey said in Las Vegas. “So of course, just learn from those guys, it’s great for me. I went to the play -offs once. But it was good, man … I’m just going to learn a lot from those guys.”

Head coach Matt Reynolds of the summer competition said that Bassey joined the team just before the first day of the training camp, and that he could participate in the live part of the second day of the camp.

“It was just clear that the guy could have an impact in the game, and you saw that in the course of the game today,” said Reynolds after the Nigerian center had registered 14 points (7-8 FG), 11 rebounds and 2 blocks in 18 minutes. “I think he was huge for us.”

What the term of office of Charles Bassey in the NBA looked like to date

Since the preparation of the Philadelphia 76ers 53rd General In 2021, Bassey played four seasons in the NBA and appears in 113 games. He spent his Rookie season in Philadelphia and played the last three seasons for the San Antonio Spurs.

Last season with the Spurs he appeared in 36 games before he sustained an injury in the mid -season. But he had a strong first half of the year, on average 4.4 points and 4.2 rebounds in 10.4 minutes per game.

It is difficult to know what that would look like scaled up; Bassey on average 15.1 points, 14.6 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per 36 minutes last season. (For reference, Neemias Queta, who is probably the start center of Celtics next year, had an average of 12.9 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per 36 minutes last year. It is not a perfect comparison.)

Rebound and rim protection have long been the strengths of Bassey. When asked what he is bringing to an NBA team, Bassey said: “Great effort, my rebound, blocking shots, rim protection. I bring great defense to the team. And I just play my role. I know what the team needs from me, I know what they want from me, and I do it every night.”

Liga -sources said there is some concern about Bassey’s injury history – The 6’10 center suffered a break in his left patella in 2023 and later tore his ACL. He missed the second half of last season with an MCL injury.

But Bassey played on both nights of a back-to-back with the Celtics on both nights and has now been completely cleared for NBA promotion.

It is still to be seen whether the Celtics will ultimately have the cap space or sufficient interest in signing Bassey. But unlike earlier reports, sources say that Bassey is currently not going to play in Europe next season. And Boston is a destination that he mainly loves.