The Boston Celtics were a finalist in the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes, but were reportedly unwilling to include Hugo González in their offer and came up short.
The Miami Heat gave up Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, three first-round picks, one pick swap and one second-round pick in exchange for Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis. According to Shams Charania, the Celtics refused to include more young players in their offer, which was centered around Jaylen Brown and two first-round picks.
Charania mentioned González and Baylor Scheierman as players the Bucks wanted in addition to Brown and the picks. The Celtics did not want to do that, but New England Patriots defensive tackle Cory Durden thinks they should have been willing to part with González.
"I like (Neemias) Queta over him," wrote Durden on X, reacting to a post about the Celtics not willing to part with González. "We could’ve gave him up."
González averaged 3.9 points last season, but showed flashes of being a solid player. He scored a season-high 18 points against the Bucks in March in one of his three starts of the season. However, Queta was a better player than González last year. They play different positions, but both players would have been in a diminished role anyway if the Celtics landed Antetokounmpo.
González is going into his second season and could develop into a solid piece. However, it's hard to argue that trading him for Antetokounmpo would not have been worth it.
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