How Celtics Benefit From Inking Two-Way Center To Standard Contract

The Boston Celtics finally filled their 15th and final roster spot with four games remaining in the regular season.

The Celtics announced Monday night they inked two-way center Neemias Queta to a standard contract. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but MassLive’s Brian Robb reported that it is expected to be a multi-year agreement.

Queta initially joined the Celtics in mid-September after being waived by the Sacramento Kings. Even though the seven-footer was an afterthought of a signing, he found a way to contribute, especially early in the season.

The 24-year-old appeared in 26 games for the Celtics and averaged 4.6 points and 4.1 rebounds. His best stretch came in December when he played in nine straight games and posted two double-doubles during that span, including a 14-point, 12-rebound showing in a blowout win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Queta also showed his potential playing for the Maine Celtics of the G League. The Utah State product, who dealt with a knee injury for part of the season, notched 14.4 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists in eight games as Maine made a run to the G League Finals.

“He’s one of those kids that doesn’t know how good he can be, that hasn’t been in the league a long time,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters in January, as transcribed by WEEI’s Justin Turpin. “He’s only played like 300 minutes in the NBA. So he’s starting to see when he plays with a certain presence, were a different basketball team.”

Converting Queta’s contract from a two-way to a standard deal did provide Boston with some value. The Portuguese big man is now eligible for the postseason, which would not have been the case if he stayed on his two-way contract.

Queta probably won’t see much playing time in the postseason for the Celtics as an end-of-the-bench depth piece. But just having him as an option is important since the Celtics are somewhat unproven at the center spot behind Kristaps Porzingis. And there’s no telling if Porzingis, who has been injury-prone in his career, can withstand the grind to the NBA Finals.

Luke Kornet is a backup option but barely saw the court in the playoffs the past three seasons. Xavier Tillman, who came to the Celtics from the Memphis Grizzlies at the NBA trade deadline, has more postseason experience than Kornet, but not much. Tillman had a strong showing in the playoffs last season when he averaged 8.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists in six games with the Grizzlies.

The Celtics will end up relying heavily on Porzingis in their quest for Banner 18. Queta will be along for that ride now, too, as it doesn’t hurt to have as much insurance as possible when embarking on a mission like that.