Celtics Part Ways With Bentil; Final Roster Spot Down To Young, Hunter
BOSTON (CBS) -- We're down to two players battling for the final spot on the Boston Celtics' roster.
After waiving Marcus Georges-Hunt, Damion Lee and Jalen Jones on Thursday, the Celtics parted ways with second-round pick Ben Bentil on Friday.
Bentil would have to clear waivers in order to land with the Maine Red Claws, Boston's D-League affiliate, which Danny Ainge doesn't expect to happen.
With the release of Bentil, the Boston roster is now down to 16 players ahead of Monday's roster deadline. That leaves room for just one more player, which Ainge said is down to young swingmen James Young and R.J. Hunter.
Ainge is currently looking to deal Young (the 17th overall pick in 2014) or Hunter (the 28th selection in 2015), working the phones as he tries to trim Boston's roster down to the league-mandated 15 players.
Young averaged 5.6 points over his seven preseason games, hitting 42 percent of his shots from the floor. He's averaged just 8.9 minutes over 60 games in his two seasons with Boston, spending most of his time with the Red Claws.
Hunter averaged seven points over the seven game preseason slate, knocking down 43 percent of his attempts. He appeared in 36 games in his rookie season with the Celtics, averaging just 2.7 points on 37 percent shooting.
