Hugo Gonzalez has already made the biggest question around his Celtics future pretty easy to spot: the shot has to come around.
That doesn’t erase the good stuff. Far from it.
Gonzalez has flashed real ability already, especially on defense, where he’s been the kind of player who jumps into the action, makes hustle plays and takes on some of the best in the game one-on-one. He’s also looked strong in summer league, which only adds to the buzz around a 20-year-old who still has plenty of room to grow.
But if Boston wants him to become more than just an intriguing young piece, the jumper is the hurdle he has to clear.
The numbers tell the story. Gonzalez entered the draft with a shaky outside shot, hitting 28.1 3FG% on 1.3 attempts in three seasons with Real Madrid.
As a rookie, he wasn’t asked to take much more, and he made 36.2 3FG% while averaging just 1.6 attempts per game. In summer league, the volume jumped and the efficiency didn’t follow: 31.8 FG% on 14.7 attempts, including 25.9 3 FG% on 9 attempts.
He’s not a natural shot-creator yet, and Boston doesn’t need him to be. What the Celtics do need is the rest of his game, because he’s going to be in the rotation next year for everything else he brings - defense, passing, playmaking and the kind of all-around team-first style coaches trust. The danger is obvious, though: if the shot doesn’t improve, he can become a problem on the floor, especially in Joe Mazzulla’s system.
There’s still plenty of runway here. Gonzalez has time, and he should get chances to keep working on the jumper until it becomes at least reliable.
Boston has also shown it can help players clean up their shooting enough to become useful, with Luka Garza, Josh Minott and Jordan Walsh all fitting that mold. Go back a little further and the list includes Jaylen Brown, Avery Bradley and, to an extent, Marcus Smart.
Even with that flaw hanging over him, the bigger picture still looks strong. Modern NBA basketball does ask a lot from players who can’t shoot it well, but shooting is only one part of the equation. Gonzalez already checks enough other boxes to matter.
He’s an NBA-level defender. He passes.
He makes plays. He’s athletic.
He plays hard. And after just one season, a lot of the rough edges in his game still look fixable.
The jumper is the obvious issue, but it doesn’t change the broader truth: Gonzalez can play, and he looks like someone Boston can build around for a long time.
In Other News...
Celtics Just Passed On A Cheap Trade Chance That Will Frustrate Fans
The latest three-team shuffle around Oklahoma City, Atlanta and Dallas offered a reminder of how quickly a modest trade can become relevant in Boston. The Thunder moved Luguentz Dort and picked up three second-round picks plus a traded player exception, while Zaccharie Risacher and Ryan Nembhard were also part of the deal, leaving the Celtics to watch from the sidelines as another low-cost wing option came off the board.
Bostons decision was driven by the same roster math that has shaped so much of its recent thinking, with the club still working near the luxury-tax line and trying to keep an eye on a repeater-tax reset. The Celtics also have a crowded wing group already, with Hugo Gonzalez, Jordan Walsh, Baylor Scheierman and Ron Harper Jr. in the mix, which makes the choice to pass understandable on paper even if it is the kind of move that tends to frustrate fans looking for a bargain addition. [Read more 🡒]
Which Celtics Prospects Actually Helped Themselves This Summer
Summer League can be a useful filter for a front office, and the Celtics got a clearer read on a few of their young players over the past couple of weeks. Hugo Gonzalez, Chris Cenac Jr. and Dillon Mitchell were among the names who seemed to help themselves the most, while Amari Williams mostly held steady as the games went on. For a team always looking for cheap depth and developmental upside, that kind of evaluation matters as much as the box score.
John Tonje did not exactly light up the conversation, but he did enough to stay in the mix for a two-way spot next season. That is the kind of small but meaningful summer progress Boston tends to monitor closely, especially when the margins are so thin for prospects trying to turn a few good runs into a longer look. [Read more 🡒]
Joe Mazzulla Faces A Tricky Mike Conley Balancing Act
Mike Conley is headed toward a rare kind of longevity, with 2026-27 set to be his 20th NBA season and his 39th birthday coming in October. For the Celtics, that kind of mileage means the conversation is less about what Conley has been and more about how to keep him effective, which is why Boston is expected to be deliberate with his workload and flexible with the way it structures its backcourt and wing minutes.
Joe Mazzullas staff has options, but the balancing act goes beyond simply trimming a veterans minutes. The Celtics also want to keep developing younger pieces like Jordan Walsh, who has spent the offseason working to become a much better offensive player and reshape his identity, so the challenge is finding a rotation that protects Conley without slowing the growth of the next wave. [Read more 🡒]