Boston Celtics
Gonzalez is viewed as having a bright future despite falling out of Boston’s playoff rotation.
Hugo Gonzalez, who the Celtics took with the 28th pick of last year’s draft, showed some impressive flashes in his age 19 season. Finn Gomez for the Boston Globe
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Shams Charania: Celtics are among 2 finalists for Giannis Antetokounmpo trade
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Celtics reportedly targeting Trey Murphy III as backup option amid Giannis trade pursuit
As the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade talks continue to intensify, Milwaukee has indicated interest in adding one of the Celtics’ promising young players.
“Sources say the Bucks have interest in Boston’s prized young Spanish guard Hugo Gonzalez,” longtime NBA insider Marc Stein wrote.
Jaylen Brown would be the centerpiece of the Celtics’ trade offer, but Milwaukee expects more than just the 2024 NBA Finals MVP in return for Antetokounmpo, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
“There are two offers that it has come down to right now at a serious and significant level,” Charania said. “That’s the Celtics offer led by Jaylen Brown who is a superstar. There’s other additional pieces to that deal.”
“Or the Miami Heat, that consists of several players that you have control of on rookie contracts, guys that you can extend at a reasonable number and a surplus of draft capital.”
Gonzalez, a 6-foot-6-inch, 200-pound guard who turned 20 year old in February, averaged 3.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 0.6 steals in 14.6 minutes per game last season. He shot 36 percent from 3-point range and 47 percent from the field.
Gonzalez was among the players that got squeezed out when Joe Mazzulla‘s rotation tightened during the playoffs. He played in four of the seven games, averaging 4.8 minutes in the contests he appeared in. He did not score in the first-round series against Philadelphia, missing all three of his shot attempts in Game 7.
But, given Gonzalez’s age, athleticism, skill-set and hoop instincts, Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens sees room to grow. Gonzalez hadn’t shown enough to separate himself from some of the Celtics’ other young wings, Stevens said, but he ended up making a positive impression during his first season with the Celtics.
“He’s probably one of the strongest guys pound for pound on our team as a 20-year-old,” Stevens said. “He’s got a bright future, that said he didn’t separate himself from those other guys. As a front office person I can’t sit here and say one guy should be playing over another.”
The Celtics have Gonzalez under club control through 2029. There is one guaranteed year left on his deal, followed by two club options. His cap hit, which was $2.8 million last year will rise to $5.5 million by the final year of his deal.
Khari A. Thompson
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
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