Oklahoma City trade Mike Muscala to Boston for Justin Jackson and multiple draft picks

Just hours before the trade deadline ended, the Celtics and Thunder we able to reach a last minute agreement to trade Oklahoma City’s Mike Muscala for forward Justin Jackson and two second-round picks.

Boston will find more efficient three-point shooting in Muscala, as well as a stronger roster with enough depth for the rest of regular season and eventually playoffs. The 6-foot-11 forward is also able to play center, so he brings more versatility to Joe Mazzulla’s squad.

Muscala, who is 31-years old, started his career with the Atlanta Hawks, then followed to Los Angeles with the Lakers, and finally the Philadelphia 76ers before joining the Oklahoma City. The veteran has averaged 6.2 points and 3.1 rebounds for Thunder this campaign, but his best season was 2020-21, back when he achieved he 9.7 points and 3.8 rebounds for his squad.

Muscala attracted a lot of attention ever since February started, as he had two of his best games this season just last week. The foward matched a season-high with 19 points with a total of five 3-pointers on February the 4th, as Oklahoma beat the Houston Rockets.

And three days ago, on February 7, he made four 3-pointers to drop a total of 16 points in the match that LeBron James passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the league’s career scoring leader.

Check out Muscala’s skills from beyond the arc as they defeated the Los Angeles Lakers:

Almost all of our recommended sport betting sites consider Boston to be the favorites to earn the NBA title this year (+350), as they are closely followed by the Phoenix Suns (+450) who gained a lot of title-contending fuel after they traded in for Kevin Durant right before the transfer deadline.

Jackson is expected to be waive by the Thunder

As for Justin Jackson, he is on a one-year contract and before he had stints with the Sacramento Kings, Dallas Mavericks, Milwaukee Bucks and finally the Phoenix Suns before moving to Boston.

The 27-year-old has been rarely seen this season with the Celtics, averaging 0.9 points and 0.7 rebounds per game, in only five minutes played over 23 games so far. He is expected to be waived by the Thunder once he is acquired.

Transaction alert: Justin Jackson expected to be waived by the Thunder.

— Underdog NBA (@Underdog__NBA) February 9, 2023

Oklahoma City are losing a leading and influential figure in Muscala, and players like Kenrich Williams will have to fill his role, especially as a sharpshooter. Now more than ever, the Thunder will have to depend on their star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who has emerged as the team’s best player of the campaign.

Moving on from Muscala departure, who has a $3.5 million team option for next season, this will bring a big opportunity for the youngsters to step up. Rookie center Jaylin Williams will be expected to earn lots of minutes, as for sophomore Jeremiah Robinson-Earl who’s should return soon from his ankle injury.