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Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Monday that the Boston Celtics brought in 26-year-old big man Thomas Robinson for a workout at the team’s facility. Following the Irving-Thomas blockbuster, the Celtics were left with 14 players under guaranteed contracts. Boston reportedly had preliminary contact with Andrew Bogut’s camp before this past weekend as well.
Sources: As Boston waits on finalization of Irving deal, free agent F/C Thomas Robinson working out at facility for possible roster spot.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 28, 2017
Robinson has played for six different teams since he was drafted with the fifth overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. Last season for the Los Angeles Lakers, Robinson played in 48 games, averaged 5.0 points and 4.6 rebounds in 11.7 minutes per game. Robinson’s biggest strength is rebounding, averaging over 14 rebounds per 36 minutes over the last two seasons. After trading Ante Zizic to the Cavaliers, Boston could be on the look out for more front court help with their final roster spot.
Robinson said at the beginning of free agency that if given the opportunity, he could easily be “among the NBA’s top ten rebounders.” For a Celtics team that finished 27th in rebound percentage last season, that could be an attractive player to bring on the roster.
Keith Smith outlined a number of players that the Celtics could offer minimum contracts to fill out their roster here, and Robinson was one of those players included.
This workout also gives us a potential look into how Boston feels about the Irving-Thomas trade going through. Cleveland is expected to inquire about additional compensation from Boston following Thomas’ physical, but the Celtics reportedly held strong in not giving up more for Irving in the deal. There isn’t a confirmed solution at this point, but the Celtics working out Robinson in hopes of filling out a roster spot created by the trade tells us that they might be confident that it will be completed despite the confusion over the weekend.