BRIGHTON — The Boston Celtics may still be a top contender to win the 2025 NBA Championship, but evidently, their roster was not set in stone. Shortly after their win over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday afternoon, the team announced that they had waived rookie Anton Watson. And later that night, they signed Miles Norris to a two-way contract, meaning there’s a new Celtic in town.
“I was actually on a connecting flight coming back from a Santa Cruz G League game,” Norris told reporters at practice on Tuesday in his first media appearance since signing with the Celtics. “My agent called me real quick, he said, 'Go home, pack up, [and] be ready to go in the morning.' So I packed as much as I could, and I'm here now. It's good to be here.”
Prior to the move, Norris had spent the season with the Memphis Hustle. In 22 appearances, he averaged 17.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.2 assists while shooting 46.0% from the field and 39.5% from behind the three-point line.
Miles Norris already sees something different in the Celtics
Though he’ll likely spend most of his time up in Portland with the Maine Celtics, Norris is thrilled to be a part of the organization.
“I'm excited,” Norris said with a smile. “I love City of Boston. I've been here a couple times. I'm gonna get used to the cold weather, though. I'm a California guy. So, I gotta get used to the cold. But I love it out here so far. I love the people, the coaching, staff, the whole organization”
Maine is firmly in the playoff race, so Norris will have to be ready to step in and contribute right away. Watson was a huge piece for them, especially on the defensive side of the ball as a four/five.
That’s not quite the role Norris has carved out for himself thus far in his basketball career, but his three-point shot will certainly make an immediate impact.
In fact, that might be the skill he’s most confident in.
“I think stretching the floor.,” Norris said of what he brings to the table I” shoot the ball really well from three. So, spacing the floor, helping those guys just be able to attack and iso. I know we got a lot of scorers on this team, so just being able to stretch the floor and play defense as well.”
And that’s part of the reason the Celtics signed him in the first place.
“His length. His athleticism. He’s shown a decent ability to shoot the basketball,” Joe Mazzulla said of Norris (via Noa Dalzell of SB Nation). “He played with Payton [Pritchard] one year at Oregon, so he kind of knew about him. And just those things that play into that, and then obviously, his ceiling that, ‘Can we help him grow?’”
As far as Norris’ impression of Mazzulla, social media has been his for information. So clearly, he has some learning to do there as well.
“He got a sense of humor,” Norris said with a laugh. “He's kind of like hard to read, but he's got a sense of humor. I know I've been scrolling on Instagram and stuff before, and some of the press conferences with him, it's pretty funny. But he's, a good dude, intense coach. But you know, he also has a sense of humor to him.”
Norris spent his freshman year in college with the Ducks and was teammates with Pritchard when the Celtics guard was a junior. However, after a season with little playing time, Norris transferred, didn’t play for a year, and went on to join UC Santa Barbara for his final three years of eligibility.
His time with the Hustle was partially highlighted by a 9-of-18 shooting game from deep against Maine, which may have played a part in Boston’s interest. “I think I did pretty well against Maine's team,” Norris said. “So, that might have been a big reason why they were looking at me.”
But not everyone in the organization had him on their radar.
“I don’t know anything about him, to be honest with you,” Hauser said. “I met him today. So, we’ll find out.”
Norris just got to Boston on Wednesday, and he’s trying to get used to his new teammates and coaches. But from the outside looking in, the 24-year-old already had some idea of what it was going to be like. “I know they play hard,” he said. “A winning organization.”
But one of his first interactions with the Celtics gave him all he needed to know. They held a film session during Norris’ first practice with the team, and right away, he could tell that there was something different about Boston than some other locker rooms around the association.
“They had a little film session before. It seems like a really connected group,” he said. “So, I'm really excited to be part of that. Some locker rooms are a little different, they seem like they got a really strong connection chemistry-wise in the locker room. So, it'll be great to be part of that as well.”