On July 29, the Celtics signed young shooting guard Von Wafer to a one-year contract for the veteran's minimum of just over $850,000. Only $150,000 of that salary was guaranteed, however, and the C's were given until early January to make decision on retaining Wafer for the rest of the season.
On Wednesday, the team made that decision official. Wafer's deal has been extended, and he will remain with the Celtics for the rest of this season.
"I'm just excited," Wafer said. "I know I can get a lot better. I know I can do a lot more. I'm just going to play my role and do what I have to do for us to get these W's."
"It's good," coach Doc Rivers said of Wafer's extension. "He's earned it. I think he's earned the right to be here. He's contributing to our wins, and even before he was playing, he was really working at being a better player every day in practice. So he's been good."
Wafer has only averaged 6.7 minutes per game this season, contributing 2.1 points per game in a bit role off the bench. But the Celtics have seen a significant uptick in Wafer's performance recently — on Monday against the Timberwolves, the 25-year-old exploded for 10 points and six rebounds in his best game in Celtic green.
Still, Wafer insisted, his recent breakout has had nothing to do with the pressure of earning a permanent spot on the Celtics' roster.
"I never really thought about it," he said. "Whatever was going to happen was going to happen. That's when it starts affecting you, is when you start thinking about things. I didn't think about it — I just kept doing what I was doing."
Wafer said that he wasn't even aware that the team was making a decision Wednesday. He know nothing about it until a reporter broke the news to him. For him, that's probably a good thing, Wafer joked.
"Every time I've been called to go to the GM," he said, "it hadn't been good."
