The Boston Celtics have agreed to terms with 2016 second-round pick Abdel Nader on a four-year, $6 million contract, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical.
Boston and 2016 second-round pick Abdel Nader have agreed in principle on a four-year, $6M rookie deal, league sources tell The Vertical.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 14, 2017
Boston picked Nader with the 58th overall selection in the 2016 NBA Draft after a senior season for Iowa State in which he averaged 12.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game while shooting 47.8 percent from the field and 37.1 percent from 3-point range. After being drafted by the Celtics, both Nader and the team agreed to a one-year stash with Boston’s NBA G League affiliate the Maine Red Claws. Nader went on to have a tremendous year for the Red Claws, averaging 21.3 points, 6.2 rebounds 3.9 assists, 1.0 steal, and 0.8 blocks on his way to being named the league’s Rookie of the Year.
Over 26.2 minutes per game through three contests in the Utah Summer League this year, Nader had been averaging 14.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.7 blocks with a 48.6 percent mark from the field. Meanwhile, after Boston moved to the Las Vegas Summer League, he has played one game so far, finishing with a stat line of 14 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.0 block, and 1.0 steal while shooting a 28.6 percent field-goal percentage over 28 minutes played.
The Celtics will hope Nader can continue his upward development into becoming an NBA caliber player. He’ll be pegged as a candidate to fill out the bottom of the rotation for the 2017-2018 Boston squad.
