Boston Celtics Trade Away Bench Wing, Upgrade Two-Way Player

The Boston Celtics appear to be cleaning up the end of their bench, moving away from guys who have fallen out of the rotation. But they've upgraded one of their two-way players to fill one of the guaranteed roster spots.

Nov 26, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Josh Minott (8) reacts after his three point basket against the Detroit Pistons in the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | David Butler II-Imagn Images

The Boston Celtics appear to be cleaning up the end of their bench, moving away from guys who have fallen out of the rotation. 

Chris Boucher was the first domino to fall, being moved earlier in the day to Utah. That move cleared one roster spot, opening up the Celtics to make a follow-up move. 

Now the Celtics are moving Josh Minott to Brooklyn, opening up another spot. 

Minott made a big splash earlier in the season, starting nine games in late October and early November. He scored double-digits in 10 games for the Celtics this season, including a career-high 21 points against the Wizards on November 5. 

“If you were poor and I gave you $20 and then instantly took $20, you never really felt like you had it, right?” Minott said after a 16-point, seven-rebound performance against Orlando on November 23. At that point, he’d lost his starting job. “It’s kind of like, I don’t know, it was nice, but I kind of am used to this position. So it’s not like anything insane.”

Minott fell out of the rotation after Christmas, only playing in five games since then. He got into the Rockets game last night, but was underwhelming in seven minutes. 

One of Boston’s open roster spots will be filled by Amari Williams, who has reportedly agreed to a two-year deal at the league minimum. The first year of the deal is this season, and the second year will be next season, allowing him to be a restricted free agent in the summer of 2027. 

The Celtics still have one open roster spot at this point, and they still have the ability to fill it with a buyout candidate after the deadline. Boston is also now below the first apron, which removed trade and buyout restrictions. The buyout piece is important, because now Boston can sign any player on the buyout market, regardless of the size of their previous contract.

Ron Harper Jr. is another candidate to be elevated in similar fashion to Williams. 

These moves also provide the Celtics with significant tax relief. There is still a path to eliminating the tax bill completely, which would require the trading of Xavier Tillman Sr. and one other player. As of right now, Boston is $1.7 million over the tax, which would result in $5.1 million in taxes. 

The Celtics have repeatedly said they are not operating to get under the tax. They are currently a repeater tax team, but getting under the tax this year does not reset that. They’d need to get under it for two more years for that to happen, which is difficult to envision given that they are holding on to dreams of contending after Jayson Tatum returns.