The Boston Celtics trimmed a couple of bodies from there roster on Tuesday allowing Canadian forward Kris Joseph to edge closer to earning a spot on the team.
There are now 16 players left in the Celtics camp after the team waived Dionte Christmas and Jamar Smith. The Celtics are expected to begin the season with a full compliment of 15.
Joseph, who was a second-round draft pick of the Celtics in June, is competing with a pair of fellow rookies, Micah Downs and Rob Kurz, for the last two spots on the roster. All three players are in camp on non-guaranteed deals.
“They taught us this in RTP — the rookie transition program,” Joseph told the Boston Herald. “They told you that the window of opportunity is real small. You never know when it’s going to come, and you never know when it’s going to go, so you have to make the most of the opportunity and work as hard as you possibly can.
“At the end of the day it’s the coach and front office’s decision. They’re seeing what they need for the team, and they make the final decision. But (Christmas and Smith) worked extremely hard, and I wish the best for them.”
While Joseph seems more likely to make the club when the regular season tips off at the end of October, he is far from a lock according to Celtics coach Doc Rivers.
“You can see the ability there, but he really hasn’t done anything yet,” Rivers told the paper. “We look at a lot of things when we decide to keep a guy or not keep a guy. We like what he potentially can do, but he hasn’t done anything yet.”
