Jordan Walsh had two goals as he prepared for his third season with the Celtics.
One was simple: improve his jump shot.
A lack of consistency there was one of the reasons why he only appeared in 52 games last season (after playing in nine as a rookie) and has yet to crack head coach Joe Mazzulla’s core rotation. The early returns on that front were positive — Walsh shot an encouraging 38.9% from three at NBA Summer League — but he’ll need to carry over that improvement once the real games begin later this month.
Walsh’s second priority was less visible and harder to quantify, but similarly important to both his development and the Celtics’ depth this season.
The 21-year-old worked to improve what he called his “role-player IQ.”
“For example, if I’m in the slot and (Jaylen Brown) is in the corner and I get swung the ball, knowing that’s JB and that’s our guy, get him the ball and get him open,” Walsh said after Friday’s training camp practice at the Auerbach Center. “Find a way to involve him, even though he’s in the corner.”
Self-awareness is important for an NBA player, and Walsh knows that he’s far from Boston’s top offensive option, even after the team gutted its roster through trades and free agent exits and lost Jayson Tatum to a ruptured Achilles. Brown will be Boston’s go-to guy until Tatum returns, with players like Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and Anfernee Simons serving as secondary scoring threats.
As such, the best way for Walsh to carve out a role is to excel as a “connector,” ensuring the ball gets to Boston’s top scorers as seamlessly and reliably as possible.
“You’ve got to have the mentality to do it,” Walsh said, “because everybody wants to score. Everybody wants to be that guy, but every team needs somebody who’s reliable enough to make the team or build the team, be the connector piece for everybody. So that’s the role I’m trying to take on. As everybody knows, the more we get JB the ball, the more we get guys like JT the ball, the higher we have a chance of winning. We’re trying to involve them whenever they’re in the corner or out the way.”
Walsh listed Indiana’s Obi Toppin and the Clippers’ Derrick Jones Jr. as examples of this type of complementary player, adding: “Every team’s got multiple guys like that.” He said he hasn’t studied film of any particular pros, however, preferring to self-scout as he works to become a more consistent contributor in Year 3.
“It’s more watching film in situations where I could have done better or did good and reflecting on that, and being like, ‘How can I do it again and again?’ ” Walsh said. “It’s more just watching and filming myself in these practice runs trying to that.”
Walsh joined the Celtics as a 19-year-old second-round draft pick in 2023. Two years later, he still is Boston’s youngest player outside of rookie first-rounder Hugo Gonzalez (19), but he’s running out of time to prove himself. Just $200,000 of Walsh’s $2.2 million salary this season is guaranteed, per Spotrac, and the final year of his contract is a team option for 2026-27.
After averaging just 8.0 minutes, 1.6 points and 1.5 rebounds per appearance over his first two NBA seasons, the pressure is on the 6-foot-6 Arkansas product to convince Mazzulla that he can be a reliable rotation player — and president of basketball operations Brad Stevens that he’s an asset worth keeping around long-term.
Walsh is one of several unproven wings who could see playing-time increases in Tatum’s absence this season, along with second-year pro Baylor Scheierman, free agent pickup Josh Minott and Gonzalez. Asked about Boston’s depth pieces earlier this week, Stevens said “a couple of those guys have to become rotation guys” for the Celtics to build a successful and sustainable roster under the NBA’s luxury-tax restrictions.
White said he’s seen more composure from Walsh since training camp began on Tuesday.
“You can kind of see the confidence grow,” White said. “When you’re a rookie or young guy here, your mind is going a million miles a second. So he’s kind of slowed down that and knows where to be at and knows how he can make an impact on both sides of the court. And it’s good to see.”
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