Celtics Sign Former Bulldog Jarvis Varnado

BOSTON, Mass. (WCBI/Yahoo) —Needing to fortify their depleted front-line depth, the Boston Celtics will sign the NBA Developmental League’s top shot-blocker, Jarvis Varnado, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Former Bulldog Jarvis Varnado is leaving his D-League post in Sioux Falls to bolster the front line in Boston.

Varnado, 24, arrived in Boston from the Sioux Falls Skyforce on Sunday and will sign a contract on Monday.

With the departure of Darko Milicic and a thumb injury to Chris Wilcox that could keep him out a month, the Celtics chose to sign Varnado instead of recalling first-round draft pick Fab Melo from the team’s D-League affiliate in Maine.

Melo, a 7-footer out of Syracuse, had 15 points, 16 rebounds and a league-record 14 blocks for Maine on Saturday night, but the Celtics want to stay focused on Melo’s long-term development and plan to keep him in the D-League for the foreseeable future.

Varnado gives the Celtics a shot-blocking and rebounding presence to use off their bench. Varnado was a second-round pick of the Miami Heat in 2010, and has played overseas in Italy and Israel over the past two seasons. The Heat released him late in training camp in September. Varnado joined Sioux Falls, where he had averaged 14 points, 10 rebounds and 3.9 blocks in 10 games.