My Two Cents: The Release of Kris Joseph

Kris Joseph's NBA track just took a short detour with the Boston Celtics having waived him last night. Can Ball Ray takes a look at the situation and what he hopes the outcome could be ...




So it seems that Kris Joseph had his services rendered no longer needed by the Boston Celtics last night.  It is too bad since he was just short of getting his contract guaranteed for the rest of the season in a few days.

To be honest, the Boston situation was a tough one for Joseph to crack in the first place.  The team was starting Paul Pierce at the three and do have Jeff Green back playing extended minutes off and on in the spot also.  And if the C's go with the small lineup, three guard lineups or with big bigs at the same time that all leaves Joseph out in the cold looking in.

Well, with this news now the question begs to be asked:  What is up now for Kris?

I'm not sure about how the contracts work between the NBA 2nd round picks and the D-Leagues work exactly because I suspect that Kris is now in a sort of limbo.  He was originally signed by the Celtics to a contract but was assigned to the C's D-League affiliate throughout the season.  I don't suspect that he's on a contract anymore, per se, and I'm sure you can no longer find Joseph on the Boston roster anymore.  You sure can't find him on the Maine Red Claws' roster if you click the player link as of last night.

All this points to the same question we started with:  Now what?

I'm sure that Joseph can manage to find a home in the D-League for sure for the season, if not the NBA shortly.  He did average 17.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.7 steals in 35 minutes per contest in his time as Red Claw and he shared court time with guys like Lottery Pick Fab Melo plus DuJuan Summers, Chris Wright and Shelvin Mack who were all NBA guys last season.  I think that is something that has to raise an eyebrow, I'd hope.

All we can do now, much like what Kris will likely do also, is wait and see. I'm sure he will get some feelers out there for his services.  I'm not sure who would be looking to pick him up right now since there is a glut of guys who play his position at the three but I can see him on a team like the Memphis or Phoenix to fill a roster spot or possibly even San Antonio if Stephen Jackson is not good to go for an extended period of time.  Either way, he could be on a team for the stretch run if they need that third SF on the bench as an insurance policy.

Either way, I'd expect to see him on a team on this side of the water shortly. If not in an NBA team, definitely on a D-League team.  And with the resume he's been building thus far, he's sure to be a good fit in the right situation.