9:54pm: The trade sending Muscala to Boston for Jackson and two second-round picks is official, according to a press release from the Thunder.
2:21pm: The Thunder will receive the Celtics’ 2029 second-round pick and the least favorable of Boston’s two 2023 second-round picks, tweets Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe.
The terms dictating which ’23 second-rounder OKC will acquire are complex, but the pick will almost certainly belong to either Dallas, Miami, or Portland.
10:55am: The Celtics will acquire big man Mike Muscala from the Thunder in exchange for Justin Jackson and two second-round picks, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Muscala, 31, has spent the last several seasons in Oklahoma City, playing a relatively consistent role as a solid floor-spacing frontcourt reserve as the team shifted from playoff contention into rebuilding mode.
Since joining the Thunder in 2019, Muscala has averaged 7.0 PPG and 3.0 RPG in 168 total games (14.5 MPG), making 1.5 threes per game at a 39.2% clip. Those numbers are very similar to the ones he has put up in 43 games (14.5 MPG) so far this season — 6.2 PPG, 3.1 RPG, and a .394 3PT%.
While Muscala isn’t exactly an impact player, he’s a good fit for a Celtics team that had been on the hunt for frontcourt insurance behind Robert Williams and Al Horford. The terms of Muscala’s contract give him the ability to veto a trade, but it’s hard to imagine he’d turn down the opportunity to join a legitimate title contender.
Since Jackson is on a minimum-salary contract, his $1.84MM cap hit isn’t enough to match Muscala’s incoming $3.5MM salary, so the Celtics will have to use a trade exception left over from last year’s trade deadline to acquire the big man. The Thunder will take on Jackson using the minimum salary exception, generating a new trade exception equivalent to Muscala’s $3.5MM salary.
Jackson is expected to be waived by the Thunder once the deal is complete, tweets Ian Begley of SNY.tv.
As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, the deal projects to increase the Celtics’ luxury tax bill from about $58.9MM to $65.3MM.
Wow!
Yeah, I know…
instant scoring replacement with Jaylen Brown hurt
Typical Stevens move
IMO the C’s need more rebounds come playoff time. Especially if Horford & Williams need rest.
They do.
but Jackson never played and Muscala is needed depth regardless. Dude can shoot.
Good pickup for two second round picks. Going for it this year.
Thomas Bryant would have been a better pick for the same deal
Not in Boston’s offense.
Also, Bryant is a rental, he is a free agent in a few months while Muscala is on a cheap club option for next year.
Muscala is a good back up, always has been.
A decent player on a rental is infinity more useful than a useless bum on a long contract. Why do Celtics fans always prop up bum ass players?
Please elaborate on the bum ass players we’ve propped up?
You don’t seem biased at all. A big who has been a rotation player his whole career and shoots 40 from 3 is “useless”
Which bum ass players have I always propped up?
Since you know me so well.
Biased towards what? Bum players? Yes I prefer better players over worse players. What a crazy idea!!! Haha
The dude can only get 15mins on the garbage thunder. He’s got no business being on a contender as an actual role players. And you want to talk about bias? Haha, what a joke
You just don’t know anything about Muscala.
You’re a casual.
I know everything about Muscala.
Why would Lakers trade Thomas Bryant? He is solid player for Lakers
Rebounding really isn’t an issue for the C’s. They lead the NBA in defensive rebounding percentage and just last night showed that they can still rebound well while missing those two players.
What they really need is some more wing depth after adding Muscala. Gotta find a way to start lowering Tatum & Brown’s minutes.
Grant Williams can play the Wing if someone (potentially Muscala) can take some of the back up wing minutes Williams was playing.
Curtis,they still have a open roster spot so I wouldn’t count it out entirely. We should know over the next week who might be bought out. Danny Green is one name to keep an eye on,he finally got back on the court recently after offseason knee surgery.
Brown’s will be lower with that facial fracture he’s out with.
I know they’re decent during the year but they do tend to drop off and it can be a challenge getting the J’s to crash the boards in the playoffs.
Darius Bazley is still available
A lot of people didn’t think much of the D White trade last year either.
Wow! 6’10” Mike Muscala sounds perfect for the Celtics! Floor spacer? Veteran rotation player? Shoots 3’s at a high percentage? Makes his free throws? Tolerable contract? Celtics couldn’t ask for more! Wow! Trust in Brad Stevens! Go Celtics!
They could have asked for Mo Bamba.
Not good enough center. A good back up. They need a starting caliber center next to 6’8 Williams
they have one in Al…
6’9 6’10 horford has played out of position his whole career. He’s a great backup at his age right now. Center position will be played by a committee I guess.