On Monday evening on the east coast, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Boston Celtics Summer League big player Udoka Azubuike had agreed to a two-way contract with the Phoenix Suns.
He was one of five Vegas Celts players to appear in all five games this summer. Under Tony Dobbins, No. 51 in green and white played 16.4 minutes per game, averaging over 6.5 rebounds behind Justin Champagnie. He took advantage of his limited playing time, finishing the summer with a field goal percentage of more than 81%.
The development comes just a few days after another Celtics Summer League big man, Olek Balcerowski, agreed to terms with Panathinaikos Athens on a two-year agreement, joining forces with former Celtics.
The former University of Kansas star center played his first three seasons in the association with the Utah Jazz, averaging 3.3 points per game in 68 total contests. six-foot-10, 280-pound frontcourt player could have landed with the Maine Celtics next season with the team still owning one more two-way contract. In his short stint in a Boston Celtics uniform, Azubuike could not impress Brad Stevens enough to send him up to Portland with potential opportunities in Beantown.
Phoenix, given its lack of depth, will be the more likely team to provide him with time at an NBA level. He is not the type of frontcourt player that the Boston Celtics are willing to take a flyer on, most likely due to his inability to stretch the floor from the 3-point line. The Kansas product was the only one in Vegas for Boston to not put up a single shot from the 3-point line in five games.
Free agent C Udoka Azubuike has agreed on a two-way contract with the Phoenix Suns, Zach Kurtin and Mark Bartelstein of @PrioritySports tell ESPN. He was the 27th overall pick to the Jazz in 2020.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 31, 2023
Instead, the Suns added Azubuike as their second two-way player including guard Saben Lee who will also contribute in Phoenix and on one of the soon-to-be newest G-League teams. Currently, the Suns are the only NBA club without a G-League team, but owner Mat Ishbia has made it clear that will change before the start of the campaign.
On Monday evening on the east coast, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski claimed that Udoka Azubuike, a Boston Celtics Summer League big man, has committed to a two-way contract with the Phoenix Suns.
He was one of five players on the Vegas Celts who appeared in all five games this summer. Under Tony Dobbins, No. 51 in green and white averaged over 6.5 rebounds per game behind Justin Champagnie. Despite his limited playing time, he finished the summer with a field goal percentage of more than 81%.
The news comes just days after another Celtics Summer League big man, Olek Balcerowski, accepted to a two-year deal with Panathinaikos Athens, joining forces with former Celtics.
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