Draft Projects Become Celtics Contributors Thanks to 'Best Development Guy in the NBA'

The Celtics are consistently picking late in the first round or into the second, but they keep turning projects into contributors thanks to a team led by Craig Luschenat

Las Vegas, NV — Boston Celtics rookies Craig Cenac Jr. and Dillon Mitchell look on as Director of Player Development Craig Luschenat shows them something on his laptop at a summer league practice on July, 11 | John Karalis

It’s early on a Saturday afternoon in Las Vegas, and the Boston Celtics are wrapping up a summer league practice. Some of the guys are in the middle of a spectacular dunk contest on the court. A couple of others have peeled off for some shooting. Derrick White is patrolling the perimeter with a camera in hand for a social media bit. 

And off to the side, seated on the floor against a wall, are Celtics rookies Chris Cenac, Jr. and Dillon Mitchell. They have flanked Director of Player Development Craig Luschenat, who has an open laptop on his legs, and are staring at the screen intently. 

They’d better keep it up, if they know what’s good for them.

Mitchell is specifically working with Luschenat to fix his suspect jump shot. Mitchell shot 11-57 from three in college (19.3%), including a 1-15 senior season at St. John’s. He’s 3-8 in summer league.

“[It’s] just the work that we've been putting in, especially with Coach Craig, just working on the jump shot and being confident in it,” Mitchell said. “Shooting the ball on the way up is probably the main thing.”

Summer league is the first step in the developmental process for guys like Mitchell. The team has a dossier on everyone they draft, but it’s not until those guys get in the door that certain habits can be confirmed and a plan can be put in place.  

“It's all about the little things,” Mitchell said. “Everything's very disciplined … Nobody's expecting any of us to just become a whole different player the next day. But just one day at a time, getting better, working on things, and just trying to get 1% better every day.”

Mitchell and Cenac enter one of the most heralded player development programs in the NBA. Luschenat, a Boston native, heads that effort, beginning with the then Maine Red Claws in 2018, and then coming to Boston in 2022 under Ime Udoka. 

Luschenat was promoted by Joe Mazzulla in 2024, and he has been credited with helping develop different elements to players' games. Payton Pritchard said “Craig helps me all the time,” especially when he falls into the bad habit of over-correcting his shot. Baylor Scheierman says Luschenat and Sam Cassell helped him develop his no-dip three-point shot, and Luschenat is constantly working to improve Scheierman’s ball-handling.  

“Every time you come in the building, Craig's out there running around, chasing Baylor, Payton, Sam, [Hauser],” Derrick White said earlier this year. “It makes you want to listen to them. You want to come to the gym, get some more work in it. So he's done a great job of talking with everybody, telling them little things they can improve on.”

It’s not just rookies looking to improve. Every player on every level is always looking to add elements to his game. But some, like Jordan Walsh, are looking to make bigger leaps to solidify a spot in Mazzulla’s rotation. 

“I’m trying to change my identity offensively,” Walsh said in Las Vegas. “I felt like there's a lot of times in the season last year where it became clutch moments where we needed a bucket and I'd have to get subbed out. I you know I talked to my [player development] coach and I said when those moments come, I want to always be the best option. I want to be the best choice. So for me, it's working on my shot, working on my handle, working on creating my own shot when I have those pockets.”

Being a player development coach isn’t for the faint of heart. They are not only doing hours of film study to scout weaknesses and put a plan together to address them, they are on the court, doing the dirty work with the player to give hands-on instruction. 

“Everybody knows their job, and they come in at a high level and produce at it every day,” Pritchard said. “The player development staff, they're on court probably more than us, working their butts off.”

The Celtics brought so many coaches to summer league that they don’t all fit on the bench. Behind Luschenat, they are dedicated to give each player the individual attention he needs. The success stories, like Neemias Queta going from a two-way player to a four-year, $56 million deal, continue to pile up. 

Lets Go!! https://t.co/CH6m5kAzmK

— Craig Luschenat (@CraigLuschenat) July 3, 2026

With the Celtics continuing to find success and pile up regular season wins, the players they pick at the bottom of the first round and into the second are all guys who need some help to correct the flaws that dropped them to that point. Brad Stevens gets credit for finding rotation guys like Scheierman or Hugo Gonzalez in those spots, but it’s Luschenat and his staff that does the grunt work to pull the best basketball out of them. Stevens finds the moldable clay, and Luschenat and crew are tasked with turning it into art. 

Now they're at it again with two rookies who have shown enough promise in summer league to foster optimism, putting another project in Luschenat’s lap.

“I think he's the best development guy in the entire NBA, and so [they’re] going to get better,” summer league head coach Amile Jefferson said “Craig Luschenat is, I think, the best at what he does, and [they are] lucky to be working with him. I think it's going to show because we get our guys better.”