Celtics signing gritty forward to two-year contract

Oshae Brissett is signing a two-year deal with the Boston Celtics, agent Mike George tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). The second year is a player option, Woj adds.

The terms of the contract were not disclosed, but based on Boston’s financial situation, it seems very likely that Brissett will be inking a minimum-salary contract.

A 6-foot-7 combo forward, Brissett went undrafted in 2019 after two college seasons at Syracuse. He originally signed an Exhibit 10 deal with his hometown Toronto Raptors, which was converted into a two-way deal for his rookie season.

Brissett was waived by Toronto in December 2020, later catching on with the Pacers in April 2021 on a couple of 10-day contracts. He played so well for Indiana to close 2020-21 (he averaged 10.9 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.0 BPG and 0.9 SPG on .483/.423/.769 shooting in 24 games) that he earned a multiyear contract for the veteran’s minimum.

His numbers declined in 2021-22, but were still solid enough for a player with his contract. However, his role was further reduced in 2022-23, with Brissett averaging 6.1 PPG and 3.4 RPG while shooting 31 percent from three-point range in 65 games (16.7 MPG).

The Celtics likely won’t be expecting much from Brissett beyond providing depth, but he is still young and clearly they liked him enough to give him a multiyear contract. He will be looking for a bounce-back season with Boston in order to increase his value going forward.