5 non-guaranteed players who could make final NBA rosters

4. Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and the Boston Celtics

Mykhailiuk was heavily pursued by some of the best non-NBA teams in the world this summer. Both Greek EuroLeague clubs Olympiacos and Panathinaikos pursued the sweet-shooting wing, the latter with much more fervor. But the 26-year-old Ukranian opted for another basketball club with a storied history, shamrock logo, and green and white dominant colors: the Boston Celtics. 

Mykhailiuk signed with the Celtics on a non-guaranteed minimum deal, and signs point towards him making the final roster. Head coach Joe Mazzulla is heading into his second season in charge and there is nothing the West Virginia alum loves more than shooting threes, sans chewing gum on the sidelines. Mazzulla stressed the importance of 3-point attempts constantly last season. He ditched the duo of Al Horford and Robert Williams that anchored the Celtics' 2022 Eastern Conference champion defense a year ago until the Sixers put the Celtics on the ropes in the 2023 Eastern Conference semifinals. 

Williams has now departed in the trade that brought in Jrue Holiday. The new starting center is Kristaps Porzingis, arguably the best stretch big man in the league, and the Celtics roster and core are clearly built to acquiesce to Mazzulla’s demands for players who will shoot three-pointers without a conscious. This makes Mykhailiuk a perfect fit for the coach and the roster. He’s a career 36 percent shooter on nearly 1,000 attempts and his size, 6-foot-8, gives him an advantage and will allow him to plug into many positions on the court around the Celtics core. He can help keep the floor spaced and easily be stashed on an opponent's worst offensive player. Mykhailiuk has never found a steady home in the NBA, but Boston might be his best shot.