Celtics Waive Recent Draft Pick After Beating Nuggets

Anton Watson’s stay with the Boston Celtics lasted only a matter of months.

The Celtics waived the second-round pick (No. 54 overall) from the 2024 NBA Draft on Sunday following their 110-103 win over the Denver Nuggets at TD Garden.

Watson, who was with the Celtics on a two-way contract, spent most of his time this season in the G League as he never appeared in an NBA game for Boston. The 6-foot-8, 225-pound forward played 21 games for Maine, averaging 12 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists. The Celtics were high on his defensive ability after drafting Watson, but he struggled with his outside shot in the G League, hitting just 30.8% of his 3-point attempts.

Releasing Watson might the first of two moves for the Celtics. Boston has until Tuesday to sign a player to a two-way contract. All NBA teams are permitted to have three players on two-way deals as the Celtics have Drew Peterson and JD Davison already occupying two of those slots.

MassLive’s Brian Robb reported that the Celtics do intend to look at potential replacements to fill Watson’s vacated spot ahead of the deadline.