In make-or-break Year 3 with Celtics, Jordan Walsh aims to be ideal ‘role player’

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 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 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 significant to both his advance and the Celtics depth this season The -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 explained 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 central for an NBA athlete and Walsh knows that he s far from Boston s top offensive option even after the gang 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 attainable You ve got to have the mentality to do it Walsh noted because everybody wants to total Everybody wants to be that guy but every squad necessities somebody who s reliable enough to make the club or build the group 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 participant adding Every band s got multiple guys like that He declared 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 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 stated It s more just watching and filming myself in these practice runs trying to that Walsh joined the Celtics as a -year-old second-round draft pick in Two years later he still is Boston s youngest participant outside of rookie first-rounder Hugo Gonzalez but he s running out of time to prove himself Just of Walsh s million salary this season is guaranteed per Spotrac and the final year of his contract is a company option for - After averaging just minutes points and rebounds per appearance over his first two NBA seasons the pressure is on the -foot- Arkansas product to convince Mazzulla that he can be a reliable rotation athlete 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 Demanded about Boston s depth pieces earlier this week Stevens disclosed a couple of those guys have to become rotation guys for the Celtics to build a triumphant and sustainable roster under the NBA s luxury-tax restrictions White revealed he s seen more composure from Walsh since training camp began on Tuesday You can kind of see the confidence grow White declared 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