Celtics waive Luka Šamanić

As we move closer to the start of a new season, the Boston Celtics have the tough task of whittling down their current training camp roster. As such, Boston has decided to waive 22-year-old forward Luka Šamanić, as reported by The Athletic’s Jared Weiss.

Šamanić participated in two pre-season games for the Celtics, totaling 9 minutes, 2 points, and 5 rebounds. While Šamanić will not be sticking with Boston’s NBA roster this season, Weiss also reported that he is expected to join the Celtics G-League affiliate, the Maine Celtics.

However, Šamanić will not be signing a two-way contract, as Mfiondu Kabengele and JD Davison are currently under team control for the upcoming season, which means Šamanić will be an unrestricted free agent, who can enter into contract negotiations with any interested party, should one arise.

Šamanić has previously participated in the G-League, with the 6’10’’ forward spending last season with the Westchester Knicks, where he averaged an impressive 27.9 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game on 54.9% shooting from the field - as reported by CelticsBlog’s Bobby Manning when Boston acquired the former first-round draft pick on September 21.

Boston will still need to make a decision on who, if anyone, will earn one of their two open roster spots. As of right now, they only have 13 players signed to a full-time deal, one short of the NBA-mandated 14 players.

Right now, Noah Vonleh would appear to be in the lead, having impressed against the Charlotte Hornets on Friday, October 7. Vonleh, 27, has seen the floor in each of Boston’s 3 pre-season games, amassing 47 minutes of game time while dropping a total of 23 points, pulling down 25 rebounds, and dishing out 2 assists.

Still, Justin Jackson could potentially have the inside track, as the Celtics are short on wing depth heading into the new season, and the journeyman wing could be the ideal insurance policy in case one of the team’s primary rotation members needs to miss an extended period of time.

The Celtics have one game remaining of their pre-season schedule, where they are set to take on the Toronto Raptors on October 14 before their season officially gets underway against the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday, October 18. We should expect more roster cuts in the coming days.