Former Badger John Tonje made quite the statement in the NBA Summer League the last two weeks. He knew that his NBA future depended on how he played in those games, and Tonje made sure to capitalize. He turned heads around the league, and Badger fans weren't surprised at all, and yet still very pleased. Now the Celtics have a tough decision to make about their roster with Tonje all but playing his way onto the team.
Boston Celtics expert Sam LaFrance of Hardwood Houdini says that Tonje "should be back next season." For LaFrance, there's some roster math to work out. "Discussions of who should land Boston’s final pair of two-way roster spots have dominated discourse throughout the back half of Summer League. John Tonje, Milos Uzan, and Celtics second-round pick Dillon Mitchell all seem to be in the race for the remaining slots."
The Celtis only have one open roster spot of their maximum 15, and yet they have a second-round draft pick in Dillon Mitchell, who probably will get it. There are also two available two-way roster spots.
LaFrance says that in his mind, either Mitchell or Tonje should get that final roster spot on the 15. He said that it may be determined by the Celtics' luxury tax. "There’s a world where Boston can sign Mitchell to a standard roster spot on a $1.3 million contract to remain below the luxury tax, ever so slightly." The implication is that the other option is that Tonje gets the final spot, to ensure the luxury tax isn't met, and Mitchell finds himself on a two-way contract.
John Tonje has proven he is an NBA player and now it's about how and where
Related: John Tonje's NBA future given extra hope with strong words from Celtics' Amile Jefferson
For Tonje, LaFrance says he's simply been too valuable not to keep, "He’s simply been too good and too consistent to let walk away. Leading up to Boston’s meeting with Orlando, Tonje averaged 15.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 47.6% from the field and 46.2% from deep."
The debate for the three spots is clearly up in the air, but for LaFrance, Tonje deserves at least a two-way contract from Boston (again). He's not the only one giving a strong recommendation for Tonje. The highest praise came from the NBA Summer League head coach and Boston assistant coach Amile Jefferson.
Jefferson's strong stance was made abundantly clear in a post-game press conference last week, calling Tonje a leader and someone who deserves to be in the NBA. "I think he is definitely an NBA player, and when he plays that hard, it just makes everybody on the team better."
Now that the NBA Summer League is over for the Boston Celtics, the decisions will be coming soon, but since Tonje only had a Summer League contract, he does not even have an opportunity to shop around and see what sort of contract he can get. This may actually force the Celtics' hand a little bit more than Mitchell, for whom the Celtics have the rights after drafting him. News should be coming shortly for Tonje.
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