The Boston Celtics reportedly are signing forward Taylor Funk to an Exhibit 10 contract. Funk spent Summer League with the Miami Heat after going undrafted out of Utah State University.
Sources: the #Celtics signed 6-8 forward Taylor Funk to an Exhibit 10 contract. Funk, 26 this season, averaged 13.4 PPG and 5.5 RPG on 45.1% FG (37% 3PT) at Utah State last season. He played in Summer League with the #Heat, averaging 3.5 PPG on 5-for-19 shooting (4/17 3PT).
— Bobby Manning (@RealBobManning) September 9, 2023
Funk spent six seasons playing collegiately at St. Joseph’s University and Utah State. He started with St. Joseph’s in the Atlantic 10 Conference, playing five seasons with the team because he redshirted during his junior season.
He then transferred to Utah State and put up solid numbers in the 2022-23 campaign. The 25-year-old averaged 13.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game while shooting 45.1 percent from the field and 37.0 percent from beyond the arc.
During Summer League with Miami, Funk appeared in four games – three in Las Vegas and one in Sacramento, Calif. He played 14.6 minutes per game for the Heat and averaged 3.5 points and 2.0 rebounds per game.
He struggled a bit with his shot, going 26.3 percent from the field and 23.5 percent from beyond the arc.
Boston seems to be taking a shot on Funk based on his body of work from his collegiate career to see if he can crack the team’s roster for the 2023-24 season.
Funk shot 35.7 percent from beyond the arc during his collegiate career, an extremely respectable number, especially since he averaged 6.5 shots from downtown per game.
Boston could potentially bring Funk onto the roster for some wing help, as the team lost forward Grant Williams this offseason to the Dallas Mavericks.
Both Miami and Boston have been in the mix to reach the NBA Finals in the past few seasons.
Miami beat Boston in the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2019-20 season to make the Finals, but Boston returned the favor in the 2021-22 season, taking down the No. 1-seeded Heat to advance to the Finals.
Last season, Miami stunned Boston in the Eastern Conference Finals, going up 3-0 in the series before closing things out in Boston in Game 7.
While neither team has won the Finals over this stretch, it is clear both franchises are among the best in the East.
The Heat have to hope they didn’t miss a hidden gem in Funk now that he’s with Boston.
