One of six Celtics draftees in June, Abdel Nader had been the only one whose 2016/17 outlook had not yet been determined. According to Shams Charania of The Vertical, however, a decision has been made. Charania reports (via Twitter) that Nader has turned down a “lucrative” offer from a European club and has agreed to play for the Celtics’ D-League affiliate.
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When the Celtics drafted Nader, the team hoped – and expected – to retain his rights by getting him to commit to playing for the Maine Red Claws, Boston’s D-League team. The move would allow the Celtics to keep a close eye on the 58th overall pick while not exposing him to other NBA clubs.
As Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe detailed earlier this month, an impressive Summer League showing complicated the issue for Nader and the Celtics, with agent Cervando Tejeda suggesting that his client is “an NBA player.” However, if Boston had signed the former Iowa State forward to an NBA contract, then not had room for him on their regular-season roster, the club would have lost his NBA rights, despite being able to assign him to the Red Claws.
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Even with two of their first-round picks remaining overseas for the 2016/17 season, the Celtics have a crowded roster, which would have made it very difficult for Nader to crack the regular-season 15. Currently, the C’s have 16 players on guaranteed contracts, and that total doesn’t include John Holland or 2016 second-rounder Ben Bentil — Holland’s pact is non-guaranteed, while Bentil has a partial guarantee of $250K.