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The Boston Celtics announced Sunday that they have assigned forward Dwight Powell to their D-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws. The rookie forward was acquired by Boston in late September and played in six preseason games, but he didn't appear in a regular season game.
The Celtics like Powell's versatility as a player, but he never played small forward in his four years at Stanford. In college, Powell played both center and power forward, but he better projects as a combo-forward in the NBA. In Maine, he will get the chance to make the transition to small forward, which will require him to improve on his perimeter shooting and his defense.
The best way to improve those attributes is to actually play. Powell should receive plenty of minutes in the D-League, which could put him in a position to compete for a deep rotational role next season. Powell lacks top-end upside, but his do-it-all abilities have traditionally been valued by Danny Ainge for role players on the end of the bench.
Maine's season begins on Friday, November 14, and all of their games can be streamed live on Youtube.
Here is my full scouting report of Dwight Powell from my 2014 NBA Draft Guide.
