The Celtics waived two-way forward and No. 54 overall pick Anton Watson on Sunday after their win over the Nuggets at TD Garden. They moved quickly to fill the newly opened two-way slot, signing 24-year-old Memphis Hustle forward Miles Norris.
Norris emerged as one of the better volume three-point shooters in the G-League into his second professional season out of UC Santa Barbara. He averaged 17.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.5 blocks per game while shooting 46.7% from the field and 38.6% from three on 8.6 attempts with Memphis after heading to the G-League from their training camp. Norris joins a line of big win prospects, including Sam Hauser and Drew Peterson, with shooting ability that the Celtics tried to develop into two-way contributors.
After five college seasons, Norris went undrafted in 2023 and joined the Hawks organization for two summer leagues and a year in the G-League. The NBA listed him at 6-10, 220 pounds with a 7-3 wingspan entering the draft. Norris started at Oregon, playing alongside Payton Pritchard in 2018-19 as a freshman before grades sent him back to his hometown of San Francisco at City College. He then finished at Santa Barbara, where Norris shot 39.1% from three on 151 attempts in 2022-23. His startling efficiency on contested catch-and-shoot threes turned some heads.
Despite that, Norris began his G-League career shooting below 30% from three through his first Showcase Cup and only reached 35.3% as a rookie in 45 games. He joined Çağdaş Bodrumspor in Turkey for four games last spring before shooting 38.9% from three in his return to Summer League. That earned him a look from Memphis, who quickly waived and sent him to the G-League.
For Watson, the Celtics hoped to benefit his promising defensive switching game, but he needed to develop a three-point shot to have any representative offense at the NBA level. While Drew Peterson made several NBA appearances earlier this season and JD Davison looked on the verge of a leap to the league in Maine, Watson never approached opportunities with Boston and could receive more pro playing time elsewhere. His Maine minutes sufficed, averaging 12.1 PPG, 5.1 RPG and 1.9 APG, but he only shot 44.1% from the field and 31.9% from three in 37 games.
Brad Stevens stressed him letting it fly from three like never before, and despite 5.8 attempts per game, he never looked fully comfortable behind the line. Watson’s defensive skills should keep him the mix elsewhere. He spent his final day with the organization in Boston, getting a workout in pregame on Sunday.
“I think he’s playing really, really hard,” Maine head coach Tyler Lashbrook said earlier this season. “I think he’s shown a lot of versatility on both offense and defense, his ability to guard a bunch of different positions. Then offensively, he’s growing a ton and has been a great screener for us, and sets the table in that way and is growing as a spacer, and just wants to make the right play over and over.”
