NBA Notebook: Celtics Jordan Walsh adjusting to life and role in G-League with Maine

PORTLAND, Maine -- Maine Celtics head coach Blaine Mueller pulled Jordan Walsh aside after he fouled Delaware Blue Coats wing Jarron Cumberland. Walsh, the No. 38 pick in the 2023 draft, hit all seven two-pointers he attempted in the first half and didn't commit a foul after averaging 3.7 per game. 

This foul pushed him to four after halftime, two in rapid succession between the third and fourth quarters causing Walsh to run up the floor then look up to the ceiling after his fourth. He wore a 2-for-9 second half shooting line on his expression despite finishing with 20 points, 10 rebounds and three assists. 

"He has a pretty unique skill set in terms of massive wingspan and he's got quick hands," Mueller said after. "So it's just finding that balance of when he can be aggressive on the ball versus when he can't. That play specifically was more just like he did a great job at the point of attack. I thought he had the ball-handler on a line that was not a straight line drive to the rim and at that last second just gave a little hip check where at that point, I think he was in a good position where he just lets him go and (Celtics center) Kylor Kelly was coming across the paint to block it, and it's like, don't bail him out at that point. You've done your job, you've leveled the ball off, he showed his hands from the three point line all the way to the rim. Just finish the play." 

Boston assigned Walsh to the G-League for almost the entirety of the season so far after he began training camp aspiring to play alongside Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum as a floor-spacer, defender and energizer. He sought advice from Al Horford, who he met through his mentor Charlie Villanueva after the Celtics drafted him. He battled Derrick White one-on-one in one of the first practices. Walsh set high expectations for himself at 19, leaving Arkansas for the NBA with promising physical attributes and uneven offensive results. Given Boston's loaded roster and his youth, they opted to give him experience playing nightly in Maine, and after 10 games, the Celtics are shifting his focus from the aggressive offensive approach many NBA players take in the minors into a role more reminiscent of what he'll eventually play in Boston. They're also stressing patience. 

Walsh has averaged 14.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.3 turnovers and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 40.6% from the field and 29.5% from three after an encouraging Summer League slate where he hit 11-of-27 from three (40.7%). The Celtics selected him after traded back multiple times on draft night, and while skill development played a part in the decision to send him to Maine, the priority became acclimating him to professional basketball. 

"Obviously, the travel here in the G-League is a little bit different," Maine general manager Jarell Christian told Boston Sports Journal. "The amenities are a little bit different than what you get in Boston, but it's more so him getting used to being a professional and learning a routine that he can stick with. I think that's one of the most important things for any professional athlete is getting a routine ... something you can do consistently and that's what he's doing. It's been an adjustment. He's young. He's 19. As you can imagine, he and JD (Davison) have a lot in common in terms of Arkansas, Alabama and coming from that level to being thrown in Portland, Maine and in the G-League and one of the star players from day one."

"So he's adjusting and I always say it's a learning curve and you have to let the maturation process happen," he continued. "We're patient with him and he comes to work every day with a good attitude. So it's just on us to continue to give him the resources and help him. It's tough at times, I'm sure, but ... you gotta play a long game with guys like him. He's got great potential and obviously he can do a lot of different things on the court when his jumper's falling, getting to the rim, getting to the free throw line and defensively, he can be the best player on the court any night." 

Maine features more rookies and young prospects this season than in recent years where Sam Hauser developed alongside NBA veterans Luke Kornet and Denzel Valentine. Last year's roster featured Luka Šamanić and Mfiondu Kabengele, physical frontcourt presences who helped Davison at 19. Now, Davison has become a veteran for Walsh and rookies DJ Steward and the other Celtics training camp invites. Veteran Jay Scrubb, signed to a two-way contract after playing with Walsh in Vegas, tore his ACL in training camp. Nathan Knight, cut by the Knicks in October, joined the organization in Scrubb's place and took over for two-way center Neemias Queta, whose focus shifted toward Boston's thin front court after a standout training camp. 

That further challenged Walsh's ability to create on the ball early in the season, so he positioned himself in the corner to split an early pair of looks from three. He tried to land a lob pass in the first quarter, nearly throwing it away to Delaware before recovering the loose ball and dunking. His best stretch came into the second, putting back a Steward miss from three, going coast-to-coast following a pair of stops, finishing after setting a screen and rolling, then setting a down screen to free Davison for a three. He also attacked a close out to get NBA veteran Tony Snell an open three, who returned to Maine for a second season, becoming an invaluable resource for Walsh as a longtime role player in the league at the same position. 

"(Walsh is) admittedly in a tough spot ... as a young player where you're coming in and it's about his long term growth and his long term progression as far as playing as though he's a Boston Celtic," Mueller said. "And that's not the easiest thing to do when you come down to the G-League ... but especially when you're a 19-year-old and you never played professional basketball. So really his focus is how can he be the most dominant, impactful defender on the court at all times? That's something that he can control, his energy, his effort, his activity, understanding personnel, who he's guarding, what do they do? How does he need to attack them?" 

"And then offensively, keeping it simple, where he's getting out to space, making quick decisions on closeouts, shoot it, drive it, move it ... after actions, crashing the offensive glass. But again, you play in this environment and there's, at times with a lot of young players and guys that are fighting, scrapping and clawing for an opportunity to be in the NBA, where they feel like they have to prove something and do a lot on their own. It can be counterintuitive or counterproductive ... to him and to his credit, he's progressed well ... he's come a long way, got a long way to go, but we're really excited about him." 

Walsh told BSJ before the game that his goal remains to make it to Boston, which Christian and others in the organization don't rule out happening this year, but could take all or multiple seasons of development. Maine's focus on Walsh and the team's development also involves tuning out the outside noise. They don't want players focused on how the outside world reacts to the statistics individual players put up in the G-League. Joe Mazzulla receives a report from Mueller and Celtics assistant Craig Luschenat after each game, but they don't want Walsh looking at the box score. They found no benefit in allowing him to play isolation, one-on-one basketball that many NBA calibers can ride to massive games. Walsh's numbers popped on Thursday, but he did it within the flow of the game. Mueller even liked his shot quality from deep -- despite Walsh finishing 1-for-8. Like with Hauser and Kornet, developmental successes that Maine hopes to replicate in the future, Walsh is playing the role he would in Boston. 

He's also prepared for the long haul, moving to Portland with all his video games, including a new virtual reality Mega Quest that he had his mother Sandra fighting aliens on during her first visit this week. He bought a puffer coat with beanies lined up, arriving at Friday's game with the temperature dipping to 21 degrees. Celtics coaches Ross McMains and Charles Lee visited alongside front office members this week, while Hauser attended Wednesday's game after Boston's elimination from the In-Season Tournament. The Celtics called him up two weeks ago with Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņģis injured, Brad Stevens greeting him on the court at TD Garden pre-game to ask him about his experience so far. Walsh still texts teammates. 

"I've got to give (Walsh's agent) Ramon (Sessions) the credit because when Ramon talks to Jordan, he can talk from a position of experience," Sandra Walsh said. "Ramon played in the G-League before he started his career. And he just explained to Jordan that you've joined a super team, which has a lot of great players on it, and so in order for you to develop and get some good playing time, you need to go to the G ... he respects Ramon so much that there was no issue." 

Internal development will become more important after the Celtics' roster grew more expensive and young bench contributors Grant Willams and Robert Williams III departed over the summer. Boston also dealt multiple future first-round picks, including one from Golden State acquired for Marcus Smart. Stevens responded by accumulating multiple seconds, including the one that became Walsh, on a busy draft night while undrafted free agency remains a difficult yet increasing opportunity to find unsung bench talent. The Celtics signed Queta, Oshae Brissett and Dalano Banton, among others, as second draft candidates who didn't pan out elsewhere and have received spot opportunities during Boston's opening schedule. They've sat out far more often.

That's what Walsh avoided with his assignment to Maine, and with recent examples of transitions from the G-League occurring in one year, it's not difficult to imagine him emerging as a contributor at the pro level in 2024-25. His 6-7 height and 7-2 wingspan allow him to practically dunk by reaching his arms up while playing inside, his shot intrigued Boston despite inconsistent results and his ability to consume opponents on defense sold Stevens. Now, they're focused on the intangibles -- how he handles the assignment, grows through the experience and manages the highs-and-lows, including foul calls. He already organized a team dinner, uncharacteristic of the usually shy personality early in his experience alongside mostly unfamiliar, older teammates. 

"The conversation with Joe and Brad was kind of like, they reminded me why they drafted me," Walsh told BSJ. "That was because I could be an elite defender, I could be versatile and do all the things that ... turn into winning. And so I have to always keep in mind that Boston's goal is to win, and for me to be a part of that, I need to be able to do the things that help us win, whether it's spacing the floor, playing defense, diving on the ground, whatever it is. To do those hard-nosed things to help the team out, to give them an advantage over another team so that we can get to the next championship."