Boston Celtics Sign Former Iowa Hawkeyes Star

Former Iowa Hawkeyes star big man Luka Garza has just earned himself a nice two-year deal heading into his fifth NBA season.

A free agent after spending the last three seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves, it's being reported by Shams Charania that Garza is signing a deal with the Boston Celtics.

Per Charania, it's a two-year deal worth $5.5 million in fully-guaranteed money.

While Garza will likely be nothing more than a depth piece for Boston, this is a nice move for him. He's joining a historic franchise that's a season removed from winning the NBA title. That's not to mention the 17 other championships the Celtics have won since 1946.

In Garza, the Celtics are getting a big bodied center who checks in at 6-foot-10, 243 pounds. He's never been a big numbers guy in the NBA, but he hustles harder than anyone else and he can spread the court a bit as a big man who can shoot.

He shot just 27.8% from three last season for the Timberwolves, but he played in just 5.6 minutes per game. He averaged 3.5 points and 1.4 rebounds per contest in 39 games. In his first season in Minnesota, 2022-23, he shot 35.9% from three.

Garza has played in 124 games in his NBA career and he's also spent plenty of time in the G League. He was selected out of Iowa by the Detroit Pistons in the second round of the 2021 NBA Draft.

In college, he was a star in Iowa City for four seasons. He averaged 23.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game as a junior. His senior season saw him average 24.1 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.

He was named the Sporting News Player of the Year twice and he was the first player in Iowa men's basketball history to be named Big Ten Player of the Year and a consensus first-team All-American twice.