Boston finished Summer League at 3-2, closing with a loss to Orlando on Saturday. The record is the least interesting thing to come out of the trip.
Hugo Gonzalez started slowly across his appearances before producing the game that explains why the front office has been protective of him. Against Sacramento he scored 24 points in an 82-76 Celtics win, adding 10 rebounds, five assists and a steal on 8-of-18 shooting. The three-point line gave him trouble, where he went 3-of-9.
Over three Summer League games he averaged better than 18 points with 8.0 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.7 steals. Small sample, obviously. It is still a striking line for a 20-year-old who has not had a real role yet.
What the coaching staff sees
Amile Jefferson’s assessment centered on positional flexibility. “He’s a pro,” the coach said, describing Gonzalez as a bigger player than people assume and someone Boston felt comfortable assigning anywhere from one through five last season.
The reasoning is that Gonzalez can be physical without losing mobility, which lets a staff put him on the opponent’s best player regardless of that player’s size. Jefferson also credited his energy as something that shows up in winning basketball rather than just in box scores.
The workload behind it
Gonzalez’s rookie year was thin. He appeared in 74 games with three starts and averaged 3.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.5 assists. He then skipped the offseason, playing for Spain during FIBA qualifying before reporting to Las Vegas.
Jefferson pointed to improvement across the board, on the floor and physically, and credited the work that went into it.
Why Boston held onto him
Gonzalez’s internal value surfaced earlier this offseason, when reports indicated he was among the reasons a proposed Giannis Antetokounmpo trade collapsed. Boston reportedly declined to include either Gonzalez or Baylor Scheierman. Antetokounmpo signed with Miami.
That decision reads differently now. Jaylen Brown is in Philadelphia, which leaves minutes available on a roster reorganizing around a healthy Jayson Tatum. At 6-foot-6 and capable on both ends, Gonzalez is the most obvious internal candidate to absorb some of them.
