Josh Minott is onto his next step with the Nets after getting traded from the Celtics last week. It’ll be an opportunity to get more playing time as he looks to establish himself in the league.
Minott signed a two-year contract in Boston over the offseason. He was an early breakout candidate as a starter, but fell out of the rotation in recent months. The Celtics ended up trading him to the Nets in a salary dump to get under the luxury tax. Minott credited some Celtics as part of his journey now that he’s in Brooklyn.
“I learn from everybody,” Minott said in his introductory news conference. “If you have a conversation with me one day, I’ll learn from you. I’m someone that I try to treat life as just being a sponge. Whether that’s on, off the court.
“If you ask me, I feel like I’ve learned from everybody I’ve ever spoken to. Whether that be (Anfernee Simons), whether that be Jaylen Clark, whether that be Jaylen Brown, whether that be Amari Williams. I feel like every single time I talk to someone, I feel like there’s always something to be learned.”
Minott played in 33 games (10 starts) for the Celtics, averaging 5.8 points and 3.6 rebounds. He was used as a wing and small-ball center, but he got lost in the shuffle in Boston. The Celtics also have a ton of young wings on the roster with a potential Jayson Tatum comeback soon, so a path to playing time was difficult.
But now Minott will look to contribute for the rebuilding Nets, so there should be more playing time available. While he’s still young at 23, Minott has mostly been about his potential as an NBA player. Now in Brooklyn, he’ll look to prove that with real production, like he did early in the season for the Celtics.
“Just the hunger I was playing with,” Minott said. “That’s something I definitely plan on bringing here. Just the hunger and desperation. I feel like that’s something the organization will definitely value. Considering their core principles of just defensively or just the mindset of disruption.”