Thunder trade Mike Muscala to Celtics for Justin Jackson, two draft picks
The Thunder dealt center Mike Muscala to the Celtics at the NBA trade deadline Thursday, The Athletic’s Shams Charania first reported.
In return, the Thunder will receive two second-round picks and forward Justin Jackson, who played 33 games for the Thunder in the 2020-21 season. It’s likely the Thunder waives Jackson to open up a roster spot.
Muscala, 31, has been a veteran stabilizer during OKC’s rebuild. He appeared in 168 games, making seven starts, in his four seasons with the Thunder.
Muscala’s best attribute is his 3-point shooting. He’s shooting 39% from 3-point range this season, which is in line with his Thunder career average.
Muscala’s shooting, and underrated defense, will add depth to Boston’s bench as the Celtics try to make another NBA Finals run.
Muscala liked his time in Oklahoma City, but now he gets to join a contender.
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OKC is losing a trusted and mature locker room presence in Muscala, but Kenrich Williams fills that role to an even bigger extent. More importantly, star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has emerged as the team’s leader in addition to being its best player.
Muscala was one of four players remaining from the Thunder’s last playoff team. Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort are the only two left after the Thunder dealt Darius Bazley to Phoenix on Thursday.
Moving on from Muscala, who has a $3.5 million team option for next season, frees up minutes for rookie center Jaylin Williams and sophomore Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, who’s nearing a return from an ankle injury.
Ideally, J-Will and JRE will be depth pieces behind Chet Holmgren, the Thunder’s center of the future.
Muscala, in his four seasons with the Thunder, averaged 7.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in 14.5 minutes per game. Muscala shot 44% from the field, including 39% from 3-point range.
Jackson was a rarely-used reserve in Boston, averaging five minutes played in 23 games this season.
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Thunder tip-ins
• The Thunder-Lakers game, featuring LeBron James’ historic scoring feat, averaged 3 million viewers and peaked at 3.7 million viewers. It was TNT’s most-watched regular season game (excluding opening night) in nearly five years, the league announced.
• Thunder forward Aleksej Pokusevski, who’s been out since late December with a left leg fracture, has been with the team on its current road trip. Pokusevski is in his seventh week of the six-to-eight-week reevaluation period the Thunder originally gave.
• The Suns’ blockbuster acquisition of Kevin Durant certainly impacts the Thunder, which has yet to play the Suns this season. OKC and Phoenix will play four times in the final two months of the regular season. To put it another way, almost 15% of the Thunder’s remaining games are against the Suns.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Thunder trade Mike Muscala to Celtics for Justin Jackson, draft picks
