The Celtics reportedly entered Round 2 of the 2025 NBA Draft with a specific target in mind. After failing to land him, they pivoted.
Boston planned to take St. Joseph’s forward Rasheer Fleming with the 32nd overall pick Thursday night, according to a report from ESPN’s Shams Charania, but Phoenix beat Brad Stevens to the punch. The Suns traded two future second-round picks to Minnesota to vault from No. 36 to No. 31 and grab Fleming.
With Fleming off the board, the Celtics opted to trade the next selection — and received a hefty return for it. The Orlando Magic gave up the 46th and 57th picks in this draft, plus second-rounders in 2026 and 2027, per Charania, to move up to No. 32 and take French wing Noah Penda.
The swap added to the Celtics’ growing stockpile of second-round picks. They also acquired two future seconds from Portland earlier in the week as part of the trade package for Jrue Holiday, which was headlined by guard Anfernee Simons. The Kristaps Porzingis trade one day later featured an exchange of second-rounders, with Boston also getting forward Georges Niang from Atlanta.
On Wednesday, the Celtics used the 28th overall pick to select Hugo Gonzalez. A high-motor 19-year-old wing from Spain, Gonzalez just finished a season with European club Real Madrid, where he was a seldom-used bench player on a team loaded with NBA alums.
