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BOSTON – The Boston Celtics announced today that they have signed free agent guard/forward Gerald Green, re-signed center Tyler Zeller and signed 2016 NBA draft picks forward Jaylen Brown, guard Demetrius Jackson and forward Ben Bentil. Per team policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed.
Green, a 6’7” guard/forward, spent last season with the Miami Heat and averaged 8.9 points and 2.4 rebounds in 22.6 minutes per game. Originally drafted by the Celtics with the 18th overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, Green has appeared in 497 games during his nine year NBA career posting averages of 10.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.0 assist while shooting 36.1 percent from the three- point line. During the 2013-14 season with Phoenix, he posted his highest scoring output with 15.8 points per game while shooting 40.0 percent from three and finished fourth in the voting for the league’s Most Improved Player.
Zeller, a 7’0” center, averaged 6.1 points and 3.0 rebounds in 11.8 minutes per game last season for the Celtics. The 17th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, Zeller holds career averages of 7.6 points and 3.1 rebounds in 19.1 minutes per contest. Zeller tied his career-high with 26 points against Milwaukee on April 8, 2016 to go along with a career-high-tying four blocks.
Brown was selected with the third overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. He appeared in six games this summer for the Celtics split between the Utah and Samsung Summer Leagues in Las Vegas, averaging 16.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.3 steals in 29.0 minutes per game. He also attempted 10.2 free throws per game. Brown was named to the Samsung All-NBA Summer League Second Team in Las Vegas. The 6’7” forward from the University of California was selected to the five- player USBWA Freshman All-America team, was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and was the lone freshman this season to make the All-Pac 12 First Team.
Jackson, a 6’1” guard from the University of Notre Dame, was selected with the 45th overall pick in the second round of the 2016 NBA Draft. He appeared in five contests for the Celtics during Las Vegas Summer League where he averaged 4.0 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 15.8 minutes per game. Jackson also played in three matchups for the Celtics during the Utah Summer League and averaged 7.3 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.3 steals in 18.0 minutes per game. As a junior at Notre Dame, he was named to the 2016 NCAA East Region All-Tournament Team and to the Second Team All-ACC. Jackson, a two-time Notre Dame Outstanding Playmaker Award winner, tallied 16.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.2 steals, while shooting 46.3 percent from the field in 36.1 minutes per game during the 2015-16 season. For his career, he shot 38.3 percent from beyond the arc.
Bentil, a 6’9” forward, was selected with the 51st overall pick in the second round of the 2016 NBA Draft. He played in five matchups for the Celtics during Las Vegas Summer League where he averaged 1.2 points and 3.0 rebounds in 7.4 minutes per game. Bentil also appeared in three contests for the team during the Utah Summer League and averaged 8.7 points on .533 shooting from the field and 4.3 rebounds in 15.3 minutes per game. An Honorable Mention AP All-America, he led the Big East in scoring with 21.1 points per game, finished fourth in the league in rebounding (7.7 rpg) and shot 46.2 percent from the field during the 2015-16 season at Providence College. Bentil was also named Big East Most Improved Player and First-Team All-Big East in 2016.