Shown signing his contract with the Boston Celtics, 27-year-old center Daniel Theis’ two-year deal with Boston became official on Wednesday. Theis — who spent five seasons playing in Europe before jumping stateside — spent the first two seasons of his career with the Celtics, often in a backup role.
Theis’ qualifying offer was reportedly rescinded by the Celtics in order for the team to maximize the amount of cap space they needed to facilitate their prior moves. Nonetheless, after Theis’ new agreement with Boston was originally reported, it was never in doubt whether or not he would actually be re-signed to the roster.
Though undersized for his position at 6-foot-8, Theis has been a solid interior defender for Boston while showing himself to be adept as both a rim-runner and floor-stretching big on offense.
He’s averaged 5.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and 0.7 blocks in 14.3 minutes per game in his time with the Celtics, shooting 54.5 percent from the field and 35.2 percent from three. Theis was particularly impressive from three last season, as he shot 38.8 percent from beyond the arc.
Moving forward, Theis will likely battle for the backup center position with Robert Williams III in training camp. Theis has the advantage as a floor spacer and in terms of experience but the Time Lord has better size, defensive upside, finishing, rebounding and passing ability.
