MarShon Brooks sent to NBDL to work on conditioning

Guard MarShon Brooks has seen little action in a Celtics uniform.John E. Sokolowski/USA Today Sports/File

WALTHAM — On the day MarShon Brooks was introduced as a member of the Celtics this summer, he wore a green tie and green socks. He said his mother had picked them out.

“The green? I love the green, I love what it stands for,” he said then after being traded from Brooklyn to Boston in the blockbuster deal that involved Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.

For the former Providence star who originally was drafted by the Celtics in 2011 (then traded to the Nets), the deal meant that Brooks was returning to a region of the country that he knew well, and he believed that he’d also be receiving a chance to reboot his career after having been buried on the bench with the Nets.

But on Wednesday his Celtics tenure took another step backward, as the team announced it was assigning the sparingly used guard to its NBA D-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws.

Because of the logjam at shooting guard, Brooks has played 61 total minutes in just nine games. He’s averaging 3.2 points this season. However, coach Brad Stevens said the move is designed to help Brooks’s conditioning more than anything.

“Sometimes as you get into [the season], the opportunities to condition become less and less,” Stevens said after the team’s practice before the Celtics flew to Chicago, where they’ll face the Bulls Thursday. “So it will be good for him to kind of get that feel back. And he’ll be back soon, I’m sure.”

Stevens didn’t offer an exact timeline for when Brooks would return, but he said Brooks was “professional” when told about the assignment.

Unusual situation

Though it might not receive as much publicity as some of the other emotional and symbolic games this season, Thursday’s game marks a homecoming for Celtics assistant Ron Adams, a former member of the Bulls’ staff until he was let go last season after a messy divorce with management.

Adams was Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau’s lead assistant, but the Chicago Tribune reported at the time that the decision to let Adams go was made by Bulls general manager Gar Forman.

The move was seen as somewhat shocking around the league considering the close relationship between Adams and Thibodeau.

Adams admitted that this trip will be a bit “unusual.”

“Some places are fun, but this one is a little bit more problematic,” Adams said. “I’m on good terms with everyone there, except one person.”

Garnett struggling

Following the Nets’ practice Wednesday, Garnett told reporters that this season has been the most frustrating of his 19-year career.

“Honestly, I have no rhythm. I’m trying to establish some confidence and figure this whole, ‘where I fit into the offense’ thing,” the 37-year-old former league MVP said.

Garnett, who played with the Celtics from 2007-13, is averaging a career-low 6.5 points in a career-low 21.5 minutes per game on a talent-rich team that was expected to compete for a title but has a 10-21 record after a blowout loss to San Antonio Tuesday.

“Nobody likes to lose. I’m not a loser. But I show up every day and I try to be a professional and give everything I have,” Garnett said. “You put Father Time on top of that. It doesn’t help anything else. And injuries and stuff like that and guys going out. It’s just a frustrating time.”