The Boston Celtics were quiet at the trade deadline, but they did find a way to address one of their most glaring needs.
Big man Mike Muscala was acquired from the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Justin Jackson and two second-round picks. The move gives Boston additional frontcourt depth behind Robert Williams and Al Horford as well as outside shooting off the bench.
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Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens expanded on the decision to trade for Muscala on Friday.
"As you go through the league, you just keep tidbits in your mind of how you think guys would fit," Stevens told reporters. "I mean, when people describe Mike that I knew well, whether in coaching or playing with him or whatever, they always talked about the way he approached his work. The way he was as a teammate. The way he competed to win, and that was the most important thing. Anybody that played with him would tell you they loved playing with him, which is like, an alarm goes off in your head like that's a person you want to have around.
"And so, I think that he was a guy we had been talking to OKC for a little bit about depending on what happened here at the trade deadline because we thought he was a guy that can fit with really any combination of our bigs. And in the last couple of years, we've been good when we've played big. He's versatile enough to do some different things defensively but he's also obviously super skilled and makes the right play, the ball doesn't stick in his hands very long, all that stuff."
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Muscala, 31, is shooting 39.4 percent from 3-point range this season. The 6-foot-10, 240-pounder shot 42.9 percent from beyond the arc during the 2021-22 campaign.
Celtics fans will get to see Muscala in action during Friday's game against the Charlotte Hornets. He is active for the matchup and will wear No. 57.
You can watch the full Stevens press conference below: