For much of this season, Josh Minott looked like a promising free-agent find for the Celtics. Now, he’s no longer on the roster.
Boston traded the 23-year-old wing to the Brooklyn Nets ahead of Thursday’s NBA trade deadline, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The trade came after a prolonged stint at the end of the bench for Minott, who fell out of head coach Joe Mazzulla’s regular rotation in late December.
Minott started seven straight games in October and November, then was a consistent contributor off the bench, often playing as an undersized center in small-ball lineups. But the emergence of Luka Garza as a capable backup big man pushed Mazzulla away from smaller second units, and Minott fell behind fellow reserve wings Jordan Walsh, Hugo Gonzalez and Baylor Scheierman.
The fourth-year pro has logged just 18 total minutes since Dec. 22, the vast majority of those coming late in blowouts. Before his demotion, he averaged 6.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game while shooting 44.4% from 3-point range.
Minott spent his first three seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves, appearing in 93 games as a deep reserve.
After also shipping out Anfernee Simons (to Chicago for center Nikola Vucevic) and Chris Boucher (to Utah in a salary dump), the Celtics now have traded away three of the four veterans they added last offseason. Only Garza remains.
The Celtics filled Boucher’s roster spot by converting rookie Amari Williams’ two-way contract, his agent told NBA insider Marc Stein. Moving Minott will create another vacancy, which Boston must fill within 14 days to reach the NBA-mandated minimum of 14 players on standard deals.