Nick Nurse Gives Insight On What Jaden Springer Can Provide Celtics

BOSTON — Jaden Springer hasn’t made a peep on the court since the Boston Celtics acquired the young guard from the Philadelphia 76ers prior to the NBA trade deadline.

But that doesn’t mean Springer will stay quiet forever.

Springer, who Philadelphia selected at the end of the first round in the 2021 NBA Draft, can provide a couple of specific skills for the Celtics as the 21-year-old continues to develop, and nobody knows that better than 76ers head coach Nick Nurse.

With the 76ers in Boston to square off against the Celtics on Tuesday night, Nurse gave insight into what he saw out of Springer during his time with Philadelphia.

“Listen, he does a couple things really well,” Nurse said prior to the contest. “He really defends the ball and he really gets the ball to the rim with some physicality, and he’s very young. He’s still working on that shooting piece, but he was improving on that as well. Hope he continues to improve and finds his way in the league.”

Springer didn’t play in the first four games after being traded to Boston due to a right ankle impingement. And then when he recovered from the injury, he saw only a combined three minutes in garbage time in double-digit wins over the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks.

Springer, who averaged four points and 11.8 minutes per game in 32 games with the 76ers this season, isn’t expected to have much of a role as an end-of-bench option for the Celtics.

But given what Nurse said about Springer’s skillset, the guard might end up being a worthwhile project.