Boston Celtics championship forward Oshae Brissett signed a G-League contract with the Long Island Nets, according to sources.
Brissett declined his $2.5 million player option with Boston last summer after playing inconsistent minutes through the regular season and appearing for a brief east finals stint against his former Pacers. Still, his rebounding and size gave the team valuable depth through many games where they won despite missing multiple players. Brissett explored free agency before taking off the first half of the season to spend time with family, continue his vlog project and keep his options open. Despite reports connecting him to overseas opportunities in Spain and Serbia, he always intended to pursue an NBA return.
He’ll do so with a Long Island team featuring former Detroit lottery pick Killian Hayes, Gonzaga star Drew Timme and appearances from Brooklyn two-way players like Dariq Whitehead. They visit the Maine Celtics on Sunday afternoon.
The deal allows Brissett to maintain flexibility to sign with any NBA team ahead of buyout and trade deadline season next month. He could also sign 10-day contracts later this year, the path he originally took to reach Indiana’s active roster through their G-League affiliate. Like the Pacers then, the Nets are on the ground floor of a rebuild and could open opportunities if they make more moves by the deadline. They already traded Dennis Schröder and Dorian Finney-Smith for D’Angelo Russell, additional players and draft compensation.
Brissett averaged 3.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game last year, shooting 44.4% from the field and 27.3% from three. He turned 26 in June.
