Celtics sign former UVA sharpshooter Sam Hauser to 3-year deal

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Former Virginia sharpshooter Sam Hauser has landed a three-year deal with the Boston Celtics, with the first two years of the contract guaranteed according to the Boston Globe.

Hauser, who transferred to UVA from Marquette, sat out a year and played his final season of college for Tony Bennett, will be paid an estimated $6 million in the deal. Obviously the former Cavalier made quite an impression on the Celtics after having signed a two-way contract last summer.

The Wisconsin native was awarded an NBA contract in February and he went on to play 26 games, averaging 2.5 points and 1.1 rebounds. Brought to Virginia as a perimeter shooting threat, Hauser immediately adapted to the NBA’s 3-point line from where he converted 43 percent of his shots. He also made 43 percent of his triples while playing 10 games for Boston’s G League team, the Maine Celtics, where he averaged 17 points per game.

Hauser made quite a splash in a short period.

“First and foremost, the shooting stands out,” Celtics coach Ime Odoka told the Globe. “Elite shooter. He’s a very cerebral player across the board. He has fit in well in games that he’s played.

“He plugged right in and he didn’t really miss a beat as far as defensively, and some of the things we were looking for. So, always in the right spot, great team defender and knows how to use himself, his angles and a cerebral guy, not just offensively but defensively as well.”

Boston added another former Wahoo star in recent days, acquiring guard Malcolm Brogdon from the Indiana Pacers, trading five players and a 2023 first-round pick.