**Drew Peterson** began the process of gaining weight after his season ended. Two-players become ineligible for the playoffs, and while he logged 25 games with the Celtics during the regular season, **JD Davison** received the final Boston roster spot after his third season on a two-way. Peterson completed his second showing flashes of ball-handling, shooting and wanted to conclude the year by adding weight while watching the Celtics in the playoffs.
“I think a big thing for my game specifically, with having a little bit thinner of a frame, is being able to match up and get ready for physicality, especially the playoffs,” Peterson said on _The Garden Report_ this week. “Really geared towards something like that, as we’ve seen over the last few years. I’m sitting about like 202 (pounds) right now – I’m trying to get to probably, like 208-210 range by season.”
With his restricted free agency looming, Peterson and the Celtics haven’t decided whether he’ll participate in next month’s Summer League, typically reserved for first and second-year players. **Baylor Scheierman** and **Miles Norris** have confirmed to _CLNS Media_ that they’ll play in Las Vegas beginning July 10, inevitably alongside Boston’s 1-2 draft picks. The Celtics have three standard roster spots available and a pair of two-ways with Norris signed to one for 2025-26. For now, the No. 28 and No. 32 overall picks in this week’s drafts will fill two of them.
Boston’s offseason inevitably won’t prove that simple, and while impending free agents Peterson, **[Torrey Craig](https://www.clnsmedia.com/torrey-craig-reveals-free-agency-plans-and-a-regret-from-celtics-stint/)** and **Al Horford** have all returned to Boston’s facility alongside younger teammates, there’s no guarantee any of the three return next season. But Horford’s presence at least inspires hope that he won’t retire this summer. **Payton Pritchard** also returned early to help lead player workouts.
Peterson remains eligible for a third two-way deal with Boston, the last permitted under the CBA, which helps his case alongside his desire to acclimate and grow into Boston’s system.
“I love it here,” Peterson said. “It’s been a great couple of years, and I hope to be here for a long time, and obviously (free agency) looms for a lot of players and stuff like that, so (I’m) waiting to see, but, I love it here – I can’t speak better, how much I love being in Boston. And, the organization, top to bottom, is incredible. So, it’s been great, I’m happy to be back here, working out with the guys and stuff like that. I do love it here.”
Peterson averaged 18.1 PPG, 6.6 RPG and 5.0 APG while shooting 43.8% from the field and 37.4% on 8.9 three-point attempts per game. Boston signed him from Sioux Falls after Miami brought him into training camp following the 2023 draft, where he was not selected. **Erik Spoelstra** later lamented losing Peterson, who the Heat liked despite not having room for him on a two-way. Peterson followed the mold of shooters with size, though the Celtics saw ball-handling elements to his game that slotted him into a different role than the one **Sam Hauser** rose through during his Maine development.
The Celtics’ G-League program still holds Hauser and **Luke Kornet’s** rise into playoff contributors with Boston as a model for other players to follow. Peterson emerged into spot NBA opportunities in 2024-25, including a surprise eight-point performance against Cleveland in November where he thought **Joe Mazzulla** had called **Jrue Holiday** into the game. Once the playoffs began, he returned to the scout team where he modeled **Franz Wagner** and **Mikal Bridges** in team practices.
“(The playoffs) definitely brings a different level of how you approach the game, how you approach the regular season, how you gear up for the playoffs, because it does make it almost a whole (different) game because of the level of physicality,” Peterson said. “The amount of hand checks you’re allowed to do the contest at the rim and stuff. It’s a different level of preparation. Obviously, you see that with OKC, and the guys they have with Caruso and Dort and stuff like that, with how physical they can be. So it’s a different level of preparation that comes with it.”
**Jayson Tatum** will miss at least most of the 2024-25 season following achilles surgery and some uncertainty surrounds **Jaylen Brown** and **Sam Hauser’s** futures with the team. While Peterson most likely slots back into a two-way, depending on if a standard contract emerges elsewhere, he could see more time with the NBA roster than Maine next season. Cleaning up his 3.0 turnovers per game in Maine last season and 3.5 fouls per 36 minutes in his Boston appearances will go a long way toward carving out a more sustainable NBA role.
His time in Boston allowed him to bond with **Kristaps Porziņģis** and **Joe Mazzulla** over their love for UFC, while he sees the same head coach the public does in Mazzulla’s press conferences — he wants to put people to the fire. For Peterson, earning an NBA contract drives him, and whether or not he returns to Boston this offseason, he’ll always remember the **Payton Pritchard** shot that made the Celtics realize they were going to be champions, standing on the podium as they rose the trophy and the unforgettable parade days later.
“Everyone throws it around, but being a little bit of a do-it-all glue guy is what I’ve always tried to emulate,” Peterson said. “And, I think that it’s something that guys like **Jrue Holiday** and **Derrick White** and certain guys do such a good job of playing off those stars, like JT and JB, where you kind of try and do a little bit everything … because I think being able to play as many positions as possible and guard as many positions as possible gives you the highest opportunity to get on the court … or not have a fault on the offensive end, where, your teams are working around you offensively. So I’m just trying to be able to fill any holes I can to show that I can really compete out there.”