The Celtics signed guard Brodric Thomas to a two-way contract Monday.
Thomas, 24, played a total of 32 games with the Rockets and Cavaliers last season, averaging 3.9 points and 1.7 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-5-inch guard, who was waived by Cleveland last week, attended Division 2 Truman State and was undrafted in 2020.
“I think coming here to this organization is just going to be huge for me just in a developmental aspect,” Thomas said. “Just because learning from vets and things of that nature is going to be key for my progress and development. That’s probably the biggest thing and takeaway from this first day.”
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The Celtics filled their first two-way slot over the summer by signing former Virginia sharpshooter Sam Hauser. This season, two-way contract players can be active for a maximum of 50 regular-season games.
The Celtics still have one empty roster spot after waiving veteran forward Jabari Parker Sunday, but there is no urgent need to sign a 15th man.
“Looking at our roster overall, [we] wanted to have some flexibility there,” Celtics coach Ime Udoka said. “But as far as Brodric coming over, talented guy, had some time in Cleveland and Houston last few years. A guy that we feel has some upside and potential coming from a smaller school. We like his grind; we like his story.”
Horford is out
Al Horford officially has been listed as inactive for Wednesday’s game against the Knicks. He and Jaylen Brown remained sidelined Monday as they await clearance to return after testing positive for COVID-19.
Udoka has remained hopeful that Brown, who tested positive Oct. 8 and has been asymptomatic, will be able to play against New York. Now, there is a chance he would return without taking part in a practice with the team first.
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“That’s a discussion we’re going to have,” Udoka said. “We like to get somebody reps obviously instead of throwing them into a game after being out all that time so something we traditionally do not do, but something we’ll have a discussion about and see where we go.”
Horford tested positive last Monday.
Pushing it
The Knicks were one of the NBA’s most surprising teams last season, when they went 41-31 and finished in a tie for fourth in the Eastern Conference. They bolstered their roster over the summer by adding former Celtics sharpshooters Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier.
Udoka said it appears New York will look to push the pace this season.
“The Knicks are really getting up and down, pushing it with their guards, hunting threes in transition and playing fast,” Udoka said. “They shoot the three a lot.
“Defensively, they are who they are: play extremely aggressive and hard and deny elbow catches and be physical. That doesn’t change regardless of who their roster is.”
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.