Celtics Renounce Draft Rights to Colton Iverson

The Boston Celtics have renounced their draft rights to Colton Iverson. This action makes Iverson a free agent and eligible to sign with any NBA team.

Iverson played for Colorado State as a senior after starting his college career at Minnesota. He was drafted by the Indiana Pacers with the 23rd pick of the draft’s second round in 2013. The Celtics then bought Iverson’s draft rights in exchange for cash from Indiana.

Since being drafted, Iverson has appeared with the Celtics in Summer League in 2013 and 2014. Despite showing potential, the team elected not to sign Iverson. He has played overseas for his three professional seasons, starting with Besiktas Sompo Japan in Turkey for the 2013-14 season. He then moved on to Laboral Kutxa Baskonia in Spain for 2014-15 before playing back in Turkey with Pinar Karsiyaka in the 2015-16 season.

While in Europe, Iverson has shown the ability to be an efficient, if somewhat limited, scorer. He’s also been a solid rebounder. What has continually held him back is his ability to defend at a consistent level.

With a big-man group of Al Horford, Amir Johnson, Kelly Olynyk and Jonas Jerebko as rotation pieces and Tyler Zeller and Jordan Mickey behind them, there was simply no chance of Iverson making the roster. Ben Bentil, drafted in 2016, is also in the fold and faces an uphill battle to be a part of the final squad for the 2016-17 season. By renouncing Iverson now, the Celtics have given him his NBA freedom and the chance to catch on elsewhere as NBA teams fill out their preseason rosters.