Earlier this summer, Brad Stevens added Josh Minott to the Boston Celtics roster via free agency. Minott, 22, has spent the past three seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves, playing in a total of 93 regular-season games. Unfortunately for the Memphis alum, he was unable to crack Chris Finch’s deep rotation, especially as the Timberwolves emerged as a genuine contender in the Western Conference.

Clearly, Stevens sees potential in Minott’s game. The idea will likely be to either develop him into someone who can contribute on a contenting roster, or build up his value enough that the franchise gets a solid return on the trade market in the future. Either way, Minott will likely get a fair shot to prove himself on the Celtics retooling roster.

When speaking to the media at the NBA Summer League, Luka Garza, who also joined the Celtics this summer from the Timberwolves, shared his shock and excitement at having Minott head to Boston with him. The duo has both struggled to earn minutes for Finch, and will now be fighting to crack a weakened Celtics rotation.

“I didn’t know,” Garza told Bobby Krivitsky of Hardwood Houdini. “It was a surprise, but I called him right away. We were both excited. We’ve been through a lot together. When he was a rookie, we went down to Iowa together to play the Iowa rules training camp, and we kind of made it up together to the Timberwolves, and [we] are starting to see opportunities for both of us…Both of us, quite honestly, did produce when we did get opportunities, but just didn’t see too many of them, just because of how stacked of a roster we had. So it’s cool to have someone come with you that you have a good relationship with. I feel like we’ve been always connected on the floor, just playing with each other.” 

Both Minott and Garza join the Celtics with something to prove. Mazzulla’s rotation will have minutes up for grabs, and if they can make the most of the opportunities afforded to them, they could prove to be shrewd additions by Boston’s front office.

Minott and Garza will head into training camp with at least one familiar face to help with the transition. They will likely hold each other accountable and continue to push each other. Celtics fans will now be hoping that Minnesota’s loss will be Boston’s gain.

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