“Miles Norris Thrilled to Rejoin New England: What This Two-Way Deal with the Celtics Means for His Future!”
BOSTON – Miles Norris was on his way back home from a Memphis Hustle road game in Santa Cruz earlier this week when his agent called him with exciting news.
He told the G League standout that as soon as he landed in Tennessee, he’d need to head straight home and pack his belongings – because he was being shipped up to Boston.
Norris eagerly rushed home, squeezed as much as he could into a suitcase, boarded a flight to Logan, and arrived Tuesday at the Auerbach Center in Brighton, where he signed a two-way contract before joining his new teammates for his first Celtics practice.
“I’m excited. I love the city of Boston,” said the 6-foot-7 forward, who’s familiar with the area, having played his senior year of high school hoops at Brewster Academy in New Hampshire. “I’ve been here a couple of times. I’ve gotta 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.”
It didn’t take long for Norris to fall in love with the team after spending the day observing their cohesiveness and getting a crash course in the film room on Celtics Basketball.
“I know they play hard; it’s a winning organization. It seems like a really connected group,” he noticed. “I’m really excited to be part of that. Some locker rooms are a little different, but they seem like they’ve got a really strong connection chemistry-wise in the locker room, so it will be great to be part of that as well.”
Likewise, the team is looking forward to having Norris become a part of their culture. Joe Mazzulla noted how the 24-year-old adds length and athleticism to the roster, as well as a strong 3-point shot.
With the Hustle this season, he logged 17.1 points per game while shooting 46.5 percent from the field, including 38.5 percent from long range on 8.6 3-point attempts per game. He also averaged 5.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals in his 36 appearances.
Norris believes his biggest strength is “stretching the floor,” which should allow him to fit right in with the three-happy C’s.
“I shoot the ball really well from three, so spacing the floor, having those guys be able to attack in iso. I know we got a lot of scorers on this team, so just being able to help stretch the floor.”
Norris is already familiar with one of those scorers: Payton Pritchard. The former University of Oregon teammates enjoyed a nice reunion Tuesday morning.
“Payton’s a great guy,” said Norris. “It was good to see him again, good to be back and playing with him again after college. Small world. I think it’s like a full-circle moment for me and Payton, so I’m excited to be here and to play with him.”
Norris is also looking forward to learning from Pritchard and the rest of the veterans whenever he makes the trip down from Maine to Boston.
“I’m going to continue to grow, continue to work with the guys here, learn from the vets here, learn from the coaches here, so I’m just really excited for that,” he said. “Just to come here every day and work and learn from some of the greats here.”
