Celtics cut ties with Big East Player of the Year who they just traded for originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Apparently the Boston Celtics didn’t want RJ Luis after all.
He was their return in the trade that sent the Utah Jazz a pair of second-round picks and Georges Niang.
But on Wednesday, the Celtics waived Luis, according to Michael Scotto.
Luis was on a two-way contract, but it seems Boston didn’t want him to have that anymore.
If he clears waivers, he could end up in the G League.
Luis is coming off a Big East Player of the Year season for St. John’s.
It wasn’t obvious how his game would translate to the NBA, and so he wasn’t drafted, and now he’s already been discarded.
It’s still a bit weird.
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Sure, the Celtics traded Niang away mostly to clear salary. And they evidently had to include a couple draft picks to incentivize the Jazz to take on his salary.
But then the Celtics got Luis in return, too, making him seem like a serious contender for a role on a team that needs some depth for this season.
Instead, the Celtics haven’t even kept Luis until the start of the regular season.
It makes it very clear that the Niang trade was solely a salary dump. If Luis had stuck around, the feel around that deal would be different, but with him gone, it’s clear the Celtics aren’t necessarily trying to maximize their roster for the Jayson Tatum-less season ahead.
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