C’s Sign Tony Gaffney & Oliver Lafayette

Posted by Brian Robb on Apr 13, 2010 744315 commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F2010%2F04%2F13%2Fcs-sign-tony-gaffney-oliver-lafayette%2FC%27s+Sign+Tony+Gaffney+%26+Oliver+Lafayette2010-04-13+15%3A30%3A42Brian+Robbhttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F%3Fp%3D7443

UPDATE: A couple clarifying notes on both players’ contracts. First, as part of the deal, Gaffney and Lafayette were both offered non-guaranteed contracts for next year. Thus, these deals have been made with an eye looking forward towards next year.

Also, both players are playoff eligible, since they have not played for another NBA team this year, and were not waived after March 1st. Despite their availability, barring an injury catastrophe, you will not see either guy in uniform, come this weekend.

With two open spots on the roster, and some rest likely on the horizon in these final 2 games with the 3 seed in all probability out of reach, the C’s made a couple moves this morning to given themselves added depth.

First, they signed 6-8 forward and former UMass star Tony Gaffney, which was first reported by ABC40 in Springfield. Gaffney had been rehabbing from a broken foot suffered while playing overseas in recent months.

The C’s also signed Oliver Lafayette, a 6-2 guard out of Houston who had been playing for Fort Wayne in the NBDL this season. News of his signing came courtesy of TrueHoop’s own D-League Digest . D-League Daily

ESPN Boston’s Chris Forsberg gets us up to date on both guys with some quick player profiles:

Gaffney:

A 6-foot-8 forward, Gaffney went undrafted out of UMass, but played for the Los Angeles Lakers‘ summer league team last year and earned an invite to training camp, where he was a final cut. Gaffney latched on with Hapoel Gilboa Galil Elyon in Israel before suffering a broken foot that forced him to return stateside to rehab.

Gaffney, a Somerset native, spent his freshman season at Boston University before transferring to UMass, where he earned Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year as a senior.

Lafayette:

Lafayette, a 6-foot-2 guard out of the University of Houston, averaging 17.1 points, 6.5 assists, and 4.8 rebounds per game in 48 appearances with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants this season.

Clearly a couple moves to give this team some added depth, while giving them the liberty to not dress a few beat up starters for one of the final two contests, if needed. My guess is we will be seeing plenty of both tomorrow night in Boston, on the second half of a back to back.

A quick word on Gaffney before we go. I saw him play a lot in college for UMass and C’s fans are going to love this guy. Only 6-8, but incredibly athletic and really gets after it defensively. My guess is Ainge actually likes both of these guys as players, not just because they are warm bodies.

With a tight salary cap situation setup next year, and only six players under contract, this may be a prelude to one, if not both getting a chance to earn a roster spot next season.