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Celtics Round Out Training Camp Roster With Jalen Jones, Damion Lee

By Brian Robb, CBS Boston

BOSTON (CBS) -- The Boston Celtics will have a full house when training camp in Waltham kicks off later this month after the team agreed to deals with undrafted rookies Damion Lee and Jalen Jones. Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe was first to report the signings.

The pair of wings played for Louisville (Lee) and Texas A&M (Jones) during their college careers. Neither player signed a guaranteed deal and both are highly unlikely to make the team's final roster. However, their contracts give the Celtics top priority for their D-League rights if the players go unclaimed on waivers after training camp.

Lee is a 6-foot-6 shooting guard who posted 15.9 points per game for Rick Pitino in his final season at Louisville last season. He also had a strong showing with the Miami Heat summer league team, scoring 10.8 points and chipping in with 2.5 rebounds in only 20 minutes per game.

Jones is a longer player for his size, averaging over 15 points and seven rebounds per game during his final season at Texas A&M. Unlike Lee, he did not stand out much while suiting up for the Toronto Raptors in summer league, contributing a meager 3.2 points and 2.0 rebounds per game in the limited stint.

The signings of Lee and Jones give the Celtics the league's maximum 20 players in training camp. The duo, along with Marques Georges-Hunt and Ben Bentil, are all signed to partially guaranteed deals, making them long shots at best to make the team's final roster (outside of Bentil). The Celtics are likely hoping they can eventually land all four with the Maine Red Claws for additional development during the regular season.

Lee will be another strong competitor to go up against R.J. Hunter, James Young and Demetrious Jackson in training camp however. Barring a trade, the latter three will be competing for the final two spots on Boston's 15-man final roster in what should be one of the more competitive preseasons in recent memory.

Training camp officially kicks off on Sept. 27, while the team's preseason opener comes one week later at UMass Amherst against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Brian Robb covers the Celtics for CBS Boston and contributes to NBA.com, among other media outlets. You can follow him on Twitter @CelticsHub.

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