Celtics assign Jordan Walsh to G-League

Celtics

Walsh will likely receive plenty of opportunities to develop while playing in Maine.

The Boston Celtics have made their first roster move of the season.

On Tuesday, the Celtics announced that they have assigned rookie guard Jordan Walsh to the Maine Celtics, the team’s G-League affiliate. Walsh, who has yet to make his NBA regular season debut, will likely receive plenty of opportunities to develop in Maine.

The Celtics selected Walsh with the 38th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft after making a myriad of trades that night. He developed a reputation for his energy and stellar defense — especially at the perimeter — while he played for the University of Arkansas, which was almost certainly a reason Boston made him the only new Celtic after the draft.

Walsh surprised many after showing off his budding prowess on offense during the 2023 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. In five games of Summer League action, he averaged 16 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists while shooting 42.2% from the field and 40.7% from behind the 3-point line.

The Celtics allowed Walsh to play in three preseason games in October, where he averaged 2.3 points and 3.3 rebounds in just 13.7 minutes per game.

As it stands right now, there’s not much room for Walsh to play in Boston. The Celtics entered the season as a heavy favorite to win the NBA championship, and they are starting to meet those expectations by becoming the only Eastern Conference team to remain undefeated as of Wednesday. Walsh, a rookie drafted for the future, isn’t likely to immediately win any minutes over the Celtics’ more established players on their quest to win a title.

The Celtics will be sending Walsh to Maine, but they hope that his experience there will have helped him develop and improve when by the time he’s expected to contribute more in Boston.