The Boston Celtics are signing 24-year-old forward Drew Peterson to a two-way contract, as reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. A 6’9’’ stretch four, Peterson has been suiting up for the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA G-League this season where he’s played in 13 games, averaging 15.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists. Peterson is shooting 40.7% from three-point range on 4.5 attempts per game.
Peterson is an undrafted rookie out of USC. He spent one season at Rice before transferring to USC for two seasons. In total, Peterson racked up 96 collegiate appearances with 93 starts, where he averaged 12 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.4 dimes per game. Notably, he shot 38.7% from deep throughout his three-year tenure.
Peterson will fill the spot left by Nathan Knight, who was waived by the Celtics on Tuesday (Dec. 12) and will spend most of his time with the Maine Celtics.
With his size and perimeter shooting ability, Peterson will provide the Celtics with an additional forward who can slot into their bench rotation in a pinch. As a two-way player, he will be eligible for up to 50 games with the big club, but will not be permitted to be part of the Celtics postseason roster unless they convert his contract into a full-time deal further down the line.
Boston fans should be excited about Peterson’s potential. The last time Brad Stevens added undrafted sharpshooting forward who had spent time working out with the Miami Heat, things worked out swimmingly, and he is now a core part of the team’s rotation.
The Celtics now have all three of their two-way spots filled, with JD Davison and Neemias Queta occupying the other two slots. We’ve seen Queta participate in games throughout the season but have seldom seen Davison get his opportunity.
As such, it will be interesting to see how much playing time is afforded to Peterson between now and the end of the season and whether he can make the most of those opportunities when they’re given to him.
