Pacers forward Oshae Brissett signs free agent deal with Celtics

Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard said in April he would likely take his time to make final decisions on the Pacers' three free agents. One of them found a new home early in the process.

Forward Oshae Brissett signed a two-year deal with the Boston Celtics with a team option for the second year, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Friday night.

The 6-7, 210-pound Brissett started 43 games for the Pacers in three seasons and found a place in their rotation with the size and athleticism to play both forward spots. However, he saw his playing time decrease after the trade deadline this season when the Pacers added Jordan Nwora in a trade with the Milwaukee Bucks and used him as the backup at power forward for Aaron Nesmith.

Brissett won a job with the Pacers thanks to excellent performances on a series of 10-day contracts starting in April of 2021. He started in 16 of the 21 games he appeared in and averaged 10.9 points per game, scoring 31 in the final game of the regular season. In 2021-22 he averaged 9.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, starting 25 of 62 games. This season he averaged 6.1 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.

The Pacers still have two free agents remaining in 37-year-old guard George Hill and 36-year-old James Johnson Jr. After the signing of guard Bruce Brown on Friday they could be out of roster space, but The Athletic's Shams Charania reported that the Pacers were close to trading guard Chris Duarte to the Kings for draft capital.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers free agent Oshae Brissett signs with Celtics