The Boston Celtics bolstered their frontcourt depth Thursday afternoon by adding veteran center Mike Muscala ahead of the NBA’s 3 p.m. trade deadline.
Boston sent Justin Jackson and two future second-round draft picks to Oklahoma City in exchange for Muscala, who averaged 6.2 points and 3.1 rebounds in 43 appearances for the Thunder this season.
“We are excited to welcome Mike to Boston,” Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens said after the trade was completed. “Mike is a great teammate who adds to our depth, and will be able to enhance several different lineup combinations with his size, skill, and competitiveness.”
The Minnesota native’s career averages of 6.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game nearly match his numbers from this season. He’s appeared in 475 games over the course of his 10-year career, averaging 15.4 minutes per contest. He posted a career-high 9.7 points per game with the Thunder two seasons ago.
Muscala’s greatest strength is his shooting. At 6-foot-11, he can space the floor with the best of the league’s sharpshooting bigs. This season, he’s shooting 39.4 percent from 3-point range on 3.3 attempts per game and is coming off his most efficient long-range campaign after shooting 42.9 percent from deep in 2021-22.
Over the last 10 seasons, he’s been the most efficient big from long distance in the entire NBA with a career clip of 37.9 percent from his rookie year in 2013-14 to now. Interestingly, the top three shooting bigs over that span are all current or former Celtics. Kelly Olynyk is in second with a mark of 36.7 percent, followed closely by Al Horford with a clip of 36.6 percent.
The Horford-Muscala combo is a familiar one, as this is the third time that they have crossed paths in their careers. They were teammates in Atlanta from 2013-2016 and they also joined forces in OKC for the 2020-21 season.
The 31-year-old Muscala should be a viable backup option and could see increased minutes if the Celtics rest 36-year-old Horford in any games down the stretch. He’ll also be able to fill in for Rob Williams, if needed, considering how Williams is only a few months removed from offseason knee surgery.
Outside of his shooting, Muscala also excels as a roll man. He and Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander formed one of the most lethal pick-and-roll combinations in the league on a point-per-possession basis over the past couple of seasons. So we could see a solid combo form between him and Marcus Smart.
Because of his shooting prowess, Muscala has a chance to thrive in Boston’s system. With so much defensive attention placed on Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, there’s less pressure on Boston’s bigs around the perimeter, which is part of the reason why Horford is shooting his best 3-point clip in five seasons.
The Celtics needed some extra depth at the big man position, and Muscala’s veteran presence and shooting capability should come in handy throughout the second half of the season.