The Boston Celtics utilized the 28th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft to select Hugo Gonzalez. The move represents a high-upside bet on a 19-year-old wing who won an ACB championship with Real Madrid on Wednesday.
Here's a deep dive into Gonzalez's strengths and weaknesses. That includes concerns about his shooting that Brad Stevens is confident the organization will help him with. The franchise track record in that department bodes well for aiding him in refining his mechanics and speeding up his release.
Gonzalez is a home run swing who could grow to have a significant impact in Boston. While there's much excitement around his selection, the second round of this year's NBA Draft started in a rather unfortunate fashion for the Celtics.
Boston misses out on top target in Round 2 of the draft
The Celtics entered the second round in an excellent position. They were poised to come on the clock at pick No. 32. That's the second selection on day two.
The 18-time NBA champions appeared to target Rasheer Fleming, an enticing forward from Saint Joseph's. Here's how ESPN describes what he brings to the table.
"Fleming is a toolsy forward with impressive highlights who improved leaps and bounds over the past three years, developing into a highly efficient inside-out scorer to complement his massive 7-foot-5 wingspan, which gives him potential to grow into on the defensive end."
Unfortunately for Boston, while the game's original monarchy had visions of Fleming joining Gonzalez to form an impressive rookie tandem, the Phoenix Suns had similar ideas.
The latter organization acquired pick No. 36 from the Brooklyn Nets earlier on Thursday. Then, they got the 41st selection from the Golden State Warriors.
Those maneuverings paved the way for the Suns to leapfrog the Celtics. According to ESPN's Shams Charania, Phoenix traded the 36th pick and two future second-round selections to the Minnesota Timberwolves. With the 31st pick, they took Fleming.
In a clear sign of how Boston felt about that, the Celtics traded out of the 32nd selection.
Reporting for night two of the NBA draft on the team that planned to select Saint Joseph's Rasheer Fleming before the Phoenix Suns jumped to acquire No. 31: pic.twitter.com/MPlDu6bzb4
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 27, 2025
The way Boston pivoted was savvy. The Celtics sent pick No. 32 to the Orlando Magic for Nos. 46 and 57. They also received a 2026 second-round selection and a 2027 second-rounder, per Charania.
The Magic used pick No. 32 to take Noah Penda, who Hardwood Houdini had atop their big board when considering realistic Round 1 options for the Celtics.
The added draft capital could lead to more moves by Boston before the second round ends.