Former Los Angeles Lakers reserve power forward/center Wenyen Gabriel has agreed to terms with a new storied NBA franchise.
Sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium that the veteran big man will join the Boston Celtics this fall.
Charania added that the Celtics apparently had been observing Gabriel "in recent weeks," so evidently they liked what they saw.
The 6'9" big man averaged 9.2 points and 6.8 boards while playing for his homeland of South Sudan during the 2023 FIBA World Cup this summer. South Sudan's performance in the World Cup helped the club qualify for Olympic competition for the first time ever.
Gabriel first joined the Lakers during the 2021-22 season. He emerged as one of the few players on the club with some athletic upside on a mostly decrepit veteran roster that year, and guaranteeing his non-guaranteed deal for 2022-23 became a no-brainer for LA. Though he logged consistent regular season minutes, mostly as an undersized small-ball center (he's 6'9" and 205 pounds), Darvin Ham ultimately opted to bench Gabriel for all but mop-up time during the postseason, and he emerged as an expendable piece for the Lakers in free agency.
During 68 regular season games for the Lakers, the Kentucky product logged averages of 5.5 points, 4.2 board, 0.5 blocks and 0.5 dimes per.
With frequently-hurt big man Robert Williams III now en route to the Portland Trail Blazers as part of the Jrue Holiday trade announced earlier today, there appears to be a bigger minutes opportunity for Gabriel on a Boston team that suddenly looks pretty darn loaded.
It's exciting to see Gabriel sign on with another contender, although it's surely a bummer for Lakers fans that it had to happen with the Boston Celtics.
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