Though his freshly made jersey hung in the Celtics locker room on Sunday, Daniel Theis was barred from wearing it. Word came in that Theis was ineligible for Boston’s game against the Atlanta Hawks earlier this week. The deal that sent Theis to Boston from the Rockets was still not official despite the game sitting three days after the NBA trade deadline.
Though he wasn’t playing. Theis was seen in Boston. NBC Sports Boston’s Abby Chin says Theis was sitting in the owners’ seats in street clothes.
The Houston Chronicle reported that the Rockets didn’t have Bruno Fernando or Dennis Schroder at practice on Sunday either. Rockets coach Stephen Silas cited “clerical stuff” as the reason the trade was yet to be made official and the players weren’t eligible to participate with their respective new teams. However, that must not have been made clear to the Rockets before Sunday. The Houston Chronicle report also stated that Bruno Fernando already practiced with the team on Saturday before he was officially on the roster.
It appears Monday was the day that everything finally got sorted out. Dennis Schroder and Fernando both took the floor for the Rockets 135-101 loss to the Utah Jazz on Valentine’s Day. Additionally, Enes Freedom was officially waived. That means that Theis should be available for the Celtics on Tuesday night against the 76ers. The good news for Boston is the lack of depth with Theis out didn’t prove to be costly in the team’s comeback win over Atlanta.
Theis hasn’t played in just over a month, having last touched the floor for the Rockets on January 14th. Despite his lack of playing time in Houston as of late, Celtics head coach Ime Judoka said Theis would be “plugged right in” and that the team would “build him up” to his regular playing minutes.
Photo: (Nell Redmond – AP Photo)
