What Miles Norris release means for Amari Williams, Celtics roster

The Celtics did some more tinkering with their roster over the weekend, releasing two-way forward Miles Norris on Sunday. The move comes on the heels of a surprisingly busy week in August for Boston that included the team trading away Georges Niang, signing Chris Boucher and acquiring two-way player RJ Luis Jr. as part of the Niang deal. Let’s take a closer look at what the Norris release signals and the domino effect across the rest of the roster.

Celtics projected depth chart:

Guards (3): White, Pritchard, Simons,

Forwards (7): Brown, Hauser, Scheierman, Walsh (non-guaranteed), Minott, Gonzalez, Tatum (injured)

Bigs (4): Queta, Boucher, Tillman, Garza

Two-ways (2): RJ Luis Jr., Max Shulga, Amari Williams (unsigned for now

Amari Williams is getting a two-way spot: This became a little bit of an open question on the heels of the Chris Boucher signing. With Norris still under contract and Boston still having a roster spot open, the possibility existed that Boston could simply sign Williams to a spot on the 15-man roster despite reports that the team agreed to a two-way deal with him on draft night. However, Norris ended up being the odd man out, opening up the door for Williams to sign his two-way deal in a move that should become official in the coming days.

Miles Norris looked like an odd man out since Summer League: It’s never a good sign for a two-way player when your team drafts three rookies on draft night as the Celtics did in June. However, the ominous sign for Norris came most during Summer League when he was coming off the bench and featured behind less experienced players in Las Vegas. The 25-year-old never got much of a chance with the big club in his brief Boston stint, and things have changed a lot for the franchise since he originally signed a two-year deal back in March. Norris now will try to find a new landing spot around the league or could potentially

RJ Luis was not a random throw-in to the Niang trade: The Celtics gave up two second-round picks in the Niang deal in order to dump his salary for next season and free up a roster spot to sign Chris Boucher shortly thereafter. However, it appears the Celtics willingness to meet Utah’s asking price to absorb the Niang deal was influenced in part by Luis Jr. According to NBA insider Jake Fischer on Substack, Luis Jr. was deciding between the Jazz and Celtics for his two-way deal after going undrafted. Ultimately, he went with Utah but did not play in Summer League due to injury. It’s clear the Celtics are still fans of the former St. John’s player by acquiring him as part of the Niang deal and ultimately letting go of Norris to free up a spot for him (along with their remaining rookies). With Boston’s depth on the wing full of question marks at the end of the bench, Luis Jr. will be a fascinating name to watch in training camp to see how he fares against Boston’s youth at the position.