According to Shams Charania of ESPN, the Boston Celtics are trading Josh Minott to the Brooklyn Nets. No details have been released yet regarding the draft capital included.
The 23-year-old forward signed with Boston this past summer. He appeared in 33 games for the clubs, earning 10 starts and playing a career-high 15.9 minutes per contest. Minott averaged 5.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.0 assists while shooting 50.7% from the floor and a career-high 44.2% from deep (2.3 three-point attempts).
Minott was a big part of Boston’s lineup early in the season, but he faded out of the regular rotation in recent weeks. An ankle injury sidelined him for a chunk of games, but he was earning DNPs before and after the ailment.
On Wednesday night, Minott earned an early stint against the Houston Rockets, but he played only 7:04 (and didn’t check back in until garbage time after his 5:23 in the first quarter).
Prior to Boston’s win in Houston, Minott’s last real rotation minutes came on December 22.
At his best, Minott was a great energy guy who flew around on defense and nailed his threes. But there’s a reason Joe Mazzulla slowly phased him out of the rotation.
Despite his impressive athleticism, Minott often struggled with quick decision-making on the court. Needed rotations were late, open catch-and-shoot triples turned into hesitations, and unnecessary drives led to turnovers.
Baylor Scheierman, Hugo Gonzalez, and Jordan Walsh have all proven to be more reliable options at the wing, and even when Minott got his chance against the Rockets, two-way guard Ron Harper Jr. outplayed him.
At first glance, this may seem like a salary dump for the Celtics. And in a sense, it is. They could technically get below the tax line this season. But in reality, this may speak more to how much they like their two-way players.
Boston has already converted rookie center Amari Williams‘ contract to a standard deal, and with this trade, they now have room to convert Harper’s contract, too. All while keeping their roster at 14 players.
Perhaps the Celtics will still try to get under the luxury tax line. But that would require even more maneuvering.
