The Celtics are one of many teams interested in Tony Taylor Jr.

According to BJ Bass of RBA Sports the Celtics are likely to extend a camp invitation to former George Washington point guard Tony Taylor Jr., and they aren’t the only ones interested:

“There are a few NBA teams that have Tony on their short list for veteran’s camp, including the Knicks, Magic, Celtics, Heat, Pacers, and Lakers. There are also about half a dozen D-League teams that want him as their starting point guard.”

There’s not much information on Taylor besides some scattered comparisons to Chauncey Billups and Isiah Thomas (which is entirely ridiculous for an undrafted free agent, but a very flattering ridiculous nonetheless). Lacking anything other than a few stat-lines, I scrounged up a few videos and liked what I saw. Taylor is only 6’1″ but is incredibly strong for his size and has the physical tools to hang with bigger guards. He’s adept at taking opponents off the dribble and can finish inside with either hand, which pairs nicely with his smooth jumper and solid mid range game. He seems more than competent at running the offense and can also play off the ball. My biggest concern with him is his assist numbers are relatively low. This may be in part due to being asked to carry the offense at times, and he does appear to have good court vision, but with such limited data it’s difficult to tell whether he can succeed in a pass first role. Still, its clear the guard position is a point of emphasis this year and if the offer is extended Taylor could give Dionte Christmas and Jamar Smith a run for their money. For those interested, you can check out a highlight video of Tony here.