This summer, the Celtics signed former Minnesota Timberwolves forward Josh Minott to a 2-year deal. The scouting report on Minott is that he’s a young switchable wing, who is athletic and a solid cutter, that struggles shooting the three ball.
Does that sound familiar to you?
It should, because it is a very similar scouting report, if not the exact same, to Jordan Walsh.
Walsh, was the 38th pick of the 2023 NBA Draft and has yet to make a big impact in the NBA. In 486 career minutes, Walsh has averaged 1.6 points and 1.5 rebounds shooting 37% from the field, 27% from three with a true shooting percentage of 47%. Entering his third NBA season, Walsh needs to take a leap to hold on to his NBA career.
In his first three NBA seasons, Minott also has not established himself. With career averages of 2.3 points and 1.0 rebounds in 463 career minutes, Minott has shot 49% from the field, 34% from three with a true shooting percentage 60%.
Even though Minott has played a season longer than Walsh, they have very similar small sample sizes. Neither has separated themselves from one another in many ways but one difference is Minott’s shooting percentages.
How will one separate themself from the other this preseason, and throughout the entire season?
The simple answer is three point shooting. If you can’t shoot at a wing position in the modern NBA, you won’t make it very long in the league. That is especially true when you play for this coach and for this team.
Early in their careers, Minott has created an advantage in that regard. However, it isn’t meaningful enough for us to make a definite call. Last season, Walsh took 55 threes and Minott took 43.
Neither is a good shooter and so I don’t expect one to majorly separate from the other in that regard. As a result, we need to look at other things that could separate themselves throughout the season. Defense is going to play a big part in that.
Both Minott and Walsh are solid perimeter defenders that can switch well due to their length, Walsh is 6’7” with a 7’3” wingspan and Minott is 6’7” with a 6’11” wingspan. However, they are different types of players on that end. While, Walsh is a good perimeter defender who does a good job at staying in front of players, Minott is better at playing in the post and hovering around the rim, blocking 2.2% of shots last season, ranking in the 90th percentile, according to Cleaning the Glass.
Both players are also going to need to cut effectively. Neither did much any of it a season ago but that is going to play a role. As athletic wings who are going to play off of the ball and struggle shooting, cutting towards the rim to create some layups and dunks is something that I’d like to see both do more.
I think Minott with get the first shot in the rotation. The Celtics signed him this summer for a reason and he has just proven more in his short NBA career. That doesn’t mean Walsh won’t get an opportunity. Regardless, this will be something that we will be watching all season and could change night to night.
