Kasparas Jakucionis hasn’t played a game for the Miami Heat yet, and based on how impressive Boston Celtics rookie Hugo Gonzalez has been, there could be some incoming regret. Jakucionis missed the first seven games of the season with a groin injury, but since then, he still hasn’t earned any playing time.
All the while, Gonzalez has emerged as a legitimate rotation piece for Boston, and his play style is exactly the type that Heat fans would love to root for. There’s still plenty of time for Jakucionis to earn his place, but right now, Gonzalez looks like he would have been a perfect fit for Miami.
Instead, he ended up in Boston.
Heat took Kasparas Jakucionis over Hugo Gonzalez
Miami selected Jakucionis with the No. 20 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Eight selections later, the Celtics took Gonzalez at pick No. 28. And on the night of the draft, there were even rumblings that Boston may have wanted Jakucionis.
Throughout most of the draft cycle, Jakucionis was widely seen as the better prospect, but very early on, perhaps even last year, Gonzalez was getting early lottery buzz.
Yet by the time the draft came around, Gonzalez had just wrapped up a season at Real Madrid in which he barely earned playing time, which caused his draft stock to tank a bit.
However, through the first small portion of the NBA season, Gonzalez has contributed more than most expected him to. Meanwhile, Jakucionis has yet to play in a game. He even just got sent to the G League.
As for Gonzalez, he has appeared in 11 of the Celtics’ games, earning one start and playing 12.4 minutes. He has averaged 3.0 points and 2.0 rebounds while shooting 45.2% from the floor and 50.0% from deep range on 0.9 three-point attempts per contest.
Obviously, those stats don’t exactly jump off the page, but Gonzalez’s in-game impact is way more than his counting stats.
So far this season, the Celtics have trusted Gonzalez to guard the likes of Jalen Brunson, Cade Cunningham, Tyrese Maxey, and Paolo Banchero. He’s become an impressive defensive stopper, and he’s only 19 years old.
Add the constant energy he plays with, his knack for off-ball cutting, and he seems like he would be a perfect fit in the play style Erik Spoelstra has employed this season.
But instead, the Heat went with Jakucionis. More time is needed to see if that was the right decision, but very early returns could have Miami wishing it had taken Gonzalez instead.