Report: Celtics add veteran big Mike Muscala in trade with Thunder

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Brad Stevens has struck again.

The Boston Celtics are acquiring big man Mike Muscala in a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder ahead of Thursday's 3 p.m. ET NBA trade deadline, The Athletic's Shams Charania reports.

The Celtics will send Justin Jackson and two second-round picks to OKC in the deal, per Charania.

(UPDATE: Boston is sending the Thunder its 2029 second-round pick and the worst of its two second-round picks in 2023 as part of the deal, The Boston Globe's Adam Himmelsbach reports).

Celtics Talk: How Mike Muscala can help the Celtics, and searching for buyout options | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube

Muscala, 31, should be a good fit in Boston as a strong outside shooter who provides additional frontcourt depth behind Robert Williams and Al Horford. The 6-foot-10, 240-pound big man is shooting 39.4 percent from 3-point range this season and hit 42.9 percent of his threes during the 2021-22 campaign.

While Muscala's other numbers don't jump off the page -- he averaged 6.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game for the Thunder this season -- the Celtics gave up next to nothing to acquire him, as Jackson has only played in garbage-time minutes this season. In a best-case scenario, Muscala could help provide at least some of the production Boston hoped to get from Danilo Gallinari before he tore his ACL last August.

Muscala is making just $3.5 million this season and has a club option for 2024, so this is a solid, low-cost deal for Stevens and Co. 

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