← Locked On Celtics - Daily Podcast On The Boston Celtics
Locked On Celtics - Daily Podcast On The Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics find GEM in Hugo Gonzalez | His past, present, and FUTURE in Boston
00:36:23
Boston Celtics fans are buzzing—could Hugo Gonzalez be the next breakout star? John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal and Tom Westerholm of Boston.com dissect Gonzalez’s rapid rise, exploring how his Real Madrid experience, physical maturity, and instincts are already giving Joe Mazzulla’s squad an unexpected boost. With strong defensive versatility, Euroleague-honed poise, and advanced reads, Gonzalez draws comparisons to Derrick White—could he eventually surpass him? The conversation spotlights Gonzalez’s seamless fit alongside Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, tradeoffs between NBA and overseas development, and how Brad Stevens landed a potential steal with the 28th pick. What is Gonzalez’s true ceiling? Key topics touch on classically elite defensive skills, creative offensive flashes, and the possibility of him emerging as Boston’s future All-Star leader. Don’t miss this spirited Celtics Christmas special that envisions the future of the parquet.
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It's the Locked on podcast network. Your team every day.
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Make memories that.
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Santa. Santa, did you get my letter?
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He's talking to you britches. I'm not.
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Of course he did.
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Visit t mobile.com It's Christmas Eve, so let's do a Christmas carol thing with Ugo Gonzalez. His past, his present, his future right now on the Locked on Celtics podcast. Who else could it be? What they gonna say now? Screaming like J.T. corralis. Recap the madness every game, every practice, prime time. Depp and D. White on the sideline. Ren and Jace, how we started raising banners, how we finished Locked on Sel. This pot, home of the winners, baby. There. Welcome back to the Lockdown Celtics podcast right here on the lockdown podcast network. Where is your team every day? Your team is the Boston Celtics and I talk about them every Monday through Friday. Yes, through the holidays. Yes, on weekends when they play. The show's free. It's available Everywhere. It's on YouTube, so get into the comment section. Be coming every day or join me every day here. So you get Celtics content on a daily basis. And I do thank those of you who have already done that, if you're new to the show. I am John Corrales. I'm a beat writer covering the Celtics for Boston Sports Journal. I've been doing a version of this job for about 20 years now. I've been doing this podcast for 10 years, and I've written a couple of books about the team. Today's show is brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, use the code locked on NBA. You get 20 off your first purchase of tickets to just about anything you find anything on Game Time. So this is the Christmas Eve show. Merry Christmas to everybody who celebrates Happy Holidays. To anybody else who's celebrating something different. But we're doing the Christmas thing. We're doing a Christmas Carol thing because I'm like, I'm. I'm all in on Ugo Gonzalez. And so we're gonna do the. The. The ghosts of his Christmas past, the present and future, but not ghosts, because he's really good. And this is just kind of looking into what kind of player he is, has been and will be. And we're gonna do it with our buddy, Tom Westerholm.
- [03:28]
B
What up? How's it going, man?
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A
Good, good. You know, I was. I was hoping for like, a. A jingle bell type of thing. I don't get any jingle bell sound effects on any of this. I got nothing. I got, like, no.
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B
That's rough.
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A
So that's.
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B
I mean, definitely something to bring up with the network.
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A
And. Yeah, yeah, I do get this. I'm gonna put the candy frame for the people on YouTube. Nice little candy cane and presidents, kind of like festive thing, because we're, you know, we're festive here. It's Ugo Gonzalez. And I. I'm just like, Tom, I. I mean, I've been on the. I've been driving this bandwagon for a while now. I've been all in on Gonzalez, and I think this is a good time after these last couple of games where he's just been asked to do everything. And that moment after the game where. Where, Where. Where Jason Tatum was like, you're a bad mother. And I was like, yeah, he is. He is. And if Tatum is saying that, and then he's stamped. So let's, let's just. Let's look at Hugo Gonzalez and. And just. I think what he's going to become, and you got to start that with this kid has been playing basketball. We. It's. No, you know, everybody knows that he's been playing for Real Madrid and all that he's told that story plenty. Thought was funny. Kind of stood out to me last night when he was talking about the crowd and playing to the crowd. And I'm thinking, like, man, this dude has played and seen so many crowds that if anybody has seen what European basketball crowds look like, go Google it. Like, the, the TD Garden crowd is amazing. It's like, it really is the best crowd in the NBA and it's like a library compared to some of these European basketball things. And I think, like, when we look at, like, man, this kid's 19 and look at all the stuff he's doing, I don't think he's afraid of the moment because of all of the stuff that he's been through. Not just the experience playing basketball, but the types of environments that he's seen.
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B
Yeah, it's interesting. I wouldn't say that TD Garden is a library. It's more that like, a lot of the stuff that happens overseas would get you arrested, so you can't do it. Like, TD Garden crowds are great. Like, and I know you weren't disparaging them by any stretch of the image, but. Yeah, like, the overseas stuff is, you know, it's like it'd be considered a weapon if you brought it in. You can't do that. So.
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A
Yeah, I can't sneak flares into garden to set them off and throw on the court and have people just be like, oh, there's a flare, like, right, that happened in TD Garden. People like scatter. The place get evacuated.
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B
Well, that only happens at the start of like game one of the finals. And then everybody's playing through smoke for the first, like half of the first quarter. And you know, but yeah, no, I mean, he's, he's very clearly more prepared. And it's interesting, right, because it's like we're starting to get guys coming out of college who. And you know, I mean, college is starting to allow older and older players to play. So, like, you know, there are more experienced players playing in college, but it's just, it's just different when it's professional. You know, it's just like Hugo has been playing like really professional basketball for a long time and it, it's. It's just so fascinating how much that shows up. How much that shows up in terms of like, he's, he's been. Because he's been playing not against like a 25 year old who couldn't hack it in the NBA. So he came back to college to try. No, he's been playing against a Genuinely professional adult man since he was a, you know, like a real child. Like, he's been doing this for a long time. So, you know, obviously the NBA is a step up, right? This is, this is. No, like this, the talent is massive in the NBA, but like, but for a lot of young players coming in, it is, it's twofold. It's, first of all, you're playing against the best players you've ever played against. And second of all, you're playing against people who are just more physically and mentally developed than you. And like Ugo has, has experience kind of like playing against guys who are significantly older, significantly stronger I think is really important. Right. Like, though, like a lot of those guys that he plays against overseas are really strong. You look at him, I mean his, he, he's a, he's a strong, he's a strapping young lad, you know what I mean? Like, he's a long dude. So it's, yeah, I mean, I think it's, it that's, to me, one of the most striking things is like how real Madrid and how playing professionally at that young age really did, you know, prepare him for this moment.
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A
It's, I think the best way I can, I can kind of summarize that is you have to remind yourself that he's 19. And like, some kids come into the league at 19 or, you know, that age and you're looking at me like, man, this kid looks young. These kids look like, what are you doing? Why aren't you in middle school? Like, what? This is the league, buddy. What do you, you know, we're going to teach you how to, you know, make proper reads in the pick and roll and then we're going to show you how to shave like that. So I, I, I am struck by the like, the maturity that, and you're right, like the physical kind of like stature of a 19 year old who's like, he is, he's not wiry, right? Like, a lot of 19 year olds come in, they're wiry. I guess, like, I'm thinking like Cooper Flag is actually like another guy who's that age and, and coming in with that same physical kind of like build. But that gives you such an advantage when you're young and you have like all of these, you have the build, you have the experience and the mentality. He, you know, he's been talking like he did the, the, the team podcast, the Rafters podcast, and he talked about like real Madrid comes out and scouts you. This is the, this is the beauty of like These, the smaller countries that can do things on a like, national team scale, they, they will go out and scout these kids. And it's not like it's the United states, you know, 300 something million people, and you're impossible to have that kind of apparatus without spending a ton of money. It's easier to do in some of these smaller countries. And like, Spain is not a tiny country, but it has a lot of rural areas. So it's, it's like, it's easier to do anyway. Yeah, they scout them, they bring him to the next level.
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It also has it, incidentally, it also has an awesome train that goes from all the major cities, so it's like really easy to get everywhere. I don't have a ton of international travel under my belt, but I haven't been spraying and it was awesome. So I'm just gonna flex that real quick.
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A
I'm dying to go to Spain, man. I'm dying to go to Spain. I would love to. Yeah. But they scout you as a child. They're like, okay, these, these kids are showing some promise. Like, I, you, We were just talking about your son playing at a youth basketball game. I just went last weekend to watch my nephew, you know, who's what, seven play youth basketball. I'm like, yeah, none of these kids are going to make it in the league. Having fun. This is great. There's nobody that I sit there, I'm like, whoa, this kid's got something here. It's just a bunch of kids running around. But eventually, every once in a while, you find a new young Ugo Gonzalez and you're like, huh, let's take him to the next level. And then that next level, you see if you can succeed. And you know, let's take him to the next level. Let's take him to the school. Let's take him to the facility. And that facility is like training and schooling and everything. And like, if you don't perform, they just like, okay, you're done here. You're going to go back to your other school. You're going back home. It's, it is like a forced, like, growth, maturity that kind of sets you up for what's next. And so I think all of that stuff, when we look at what Hugo Gonzalez is now, his background has prepared him so incredibly. Like, I, I. To the point where I'm like, how did no one else see this? How did he only go 28th to, to the said, what did Brad Stevens do? Did he like, I don't know, did he drug the other GMs to not pick this guy. What, what happened here?
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B
Well, I think part of the, part of the deal, right, is when you play up at the level that he has, your stats are depressed. Right, because you are not, yeah. You're not dominating other 16 year olds. You are developing against grown men and that is much harder and you are not going to put up as gaudy stats. And you know, I mean he, he didn't make a ton of threes in his last year at Real Madrid. But I, I do want to real quick before we leave his past. I think it's interesting to note like, what this could mean for other players too. Like, I, I think it's, it's very interesting to kind of look at that academy model that we see in like, like the Premier League that we see like, you know, in soccer overseas. And just like it makes me wonder if something like that might eventually come to the United States. Just because like, it is a really, I mean, listen, if you've got these kids who have a real chance to make it in sports, it is a, it is a clear, you know, way of delineating that talent from. And developing that talent really like to a high level at a very young age. Like, that is, that is a massive advantage for anybody who has it.
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So yeah, I mean that, that is an entirely different podcast that.
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B
Would. Right before the ad break, I would love to expl.
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A
And I think, I think because the United States, like, I'm sure things are very, and I'm not an expert in Spain or anything like that, but they don't have like four major sports like, like, like this and, and fledgling pro sports leagues. There are a lot of options. I think one of the things is so many options for kids here. Yeah, it's hard like so. But I would love to explore that. It's an interesting thing and it has benefited Ugonzales. Now let's get to his present because what that gives the Celtics now is interesting. Before we get to what he can be, what's he, what can he be in the short term and that's this season, next season. So we'll do that when we come back. Today's show is brought to you by Prize Picks. The holiday season is one of the best times for sports. Bowl games, big basketball match off matchups, playoff pushes. It's all happening at once. And while we're all making choices every day, one of the fun places to make the right call is prize picks. Prize picks is the easiest way to get in on daily fantasy. Just pick more or less on at least two player projections. You lock in your lineup and you're in the game. It's simple. It's available in 45 states. California, Texas, Florida, Georgia. It has an extra layer of excitement to the holiday sports schedule because you can create your lineups in just just about a minute, not even. And the app makes the whole process smooth and intuitive. You get a whole range of unique stats to choose from. Fantasy score field goals, attempted free throws, made turnovers, whatever fits your strategy. They have a stacks feature that lets you choose the same player up to three times. So you can do Drake, Maine do passing yards, touchdowns and rushing yards. So it's all there in the Prize Picks app. Download the Prize Picks app today and use the code Locked on NBA to get 50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. That's code locked on NBA to get 50 in lineups AFTER you play your first $5 lineup lineup. Prize picks it's good to be right.
- [15:01]
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Locked On Listeners asked for more and now you can get it with the Everydayer Club. For just $5 a month, you'll get every episode ad free, plus access to our members only Discord exclusive audio from Locked On Sports Today and other perks you won't find anywhere else. If you never miss a show, this is the next step. Join the Everydayer club today@lockedonpodcast.com everydayerclub or visit the link in the show notes. That's lockedonpodcast.com everydayer club part of the Locked On Podcast network. Your team every day.
- [15:41]
A
Thank you for making Lockdown Celtics your first listen every day. You're an Everydayer now. Join the Everydayer Club. Level up your your fandom by getting ad free audio for Lockdown Celtics, which you can get on the Apple Podcast app, Spotify or other major podcast apps. You can get access to our Locked On Everyday or Discord server. The Everyday Club Discord server. So there's a group chat, there's exclusive merchandise. It's all available at lockdownceltics.super cast.com lockdown celtics.supercast.com It's $5 a month. It's 50 for the year. Check it out. The Everydayer Club. Get yourself into the the game there. All right, Tom Hugo Gonzalez's Let me get the candy back up here. Ugo Gonzalez is present, which has been. It's so it's so interesting the progression because we've done this Ugo thing before and then it kind of went away and I'm like geez, why isn't he playing, and then now he started playing again. It's like, why wasn't he playing before? This is amazing. I, I, I am just, like, enamored. Enamored with his potential for this team. Because I see, I see a guy whose instincts are just incredible. And it's not like, it's not like he's out there. Just like, man, he gets to a spot, he's got great form in his shot. He's setting good picks. It's not just that, like, any, I'm not saying anybody, but a lot of guys come out there and execute at or close to perfection, and you're like, okay, that's good. And, and some of those guys are just, you give them the task, they will execute that task. They're very good at it. Ugo has, like, this feel. He's got a thing. It's like, it really is like a kind of like a paint by numbers versus, like, just giving you the blank canvas. And I think right now he's still kind of exploring that studio space. What he's giving the Celtics now is the ability to, like, he does do those tasks, set that screen, go for that rebound, play that tough defense. But after he makes a play, he has this, like, knack for being in the right place, making the right read, just doing the right thing that I think elevates, even as a rookie, elevates the team.
- [18:09]
B
It's very funny because it's, it's almost hard to pinpoint what it is exactly that he's doing that's so great all the time. Like, you can, like, you can get into some detail, right? Like, it's like his ability to read passing lanes and, like, to read what the defense is going to try to do is awesome. Like, he's so good at just, like, seeing it, processing it, breaking it up like that. I'm amazing at that. And, like, that's, you know, almost like Marcus smart levels of anticipation, right? Like, it's very impressive. And I mean, and that's, I mean, that's only gonna get better and better as he gets older and stronger and everything else. And then, like, the rest of it, so much of it just comes down to, like, well, he just knows how to do the winning stuff, you know? Like, it's like he knows when to make that cut. He knows how to space the floor the right way. You know, you said paint by numbers, and he almost is kind of painting by numbers right now. It's just that his hit rate in terms of the painting is so high. Like, he gets it right all the time in a way that, you know, I mean, setting aside the age, I mean, you certainly don't see 19 year olds do it at this level, you know, but like, you don't see a lot of players who execute correctly at the level that he does. You know, I, I, it's, I don't know, it's, it's a, it's a weird line to walk and it's, it makes, it makes projections, which we're going to get to. I know it makes projections a little more difficult, but I think what it means right now is just like, you know, you've got a 19 year old who knows how to win and who's going to help you win games. And I mean, that's, I don't know that, that's, that's a very incredible, I don't know, gift to have, you know.
- [19:58]
A
For your Christmas present.
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B
Right?
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A
Like, yeah. So, for example, you can use him to be a screen setter because he's big, right? He's six. Six. He's like you said, he's not, he's not a small kid, you know, he's not what he, he gets in there, he can set the pig and then his feel his, his ability to be like, okay, now, now I roll. Okay, no, hang, hang, hang. Okay, now I'm gonna roll. Like, it's, it's that little bit of, and it's not always perfect, right? Because that, that's part of the learning process. It's, he's learning a new game and what's allowed and the level of physicality that's allowed and just, just getting used to the new rules, right? He's talked about that of, you know, you can't, you can't hang out in the paint like you used to in, you know, real Madrid. You have to get out and you have to understand the little tips and tricks of when a guy comes through, just touch him and you reset the clock and like that type of stuff. The, the feel for when to get out of a screen, how to space the floor, when to rotate up. I saw him kind of like direct a player. I forget who it was. Like, the Celtics call a play and he's like, no, no, no, go. And oh, yeah, right. You know, so he's, he has an idea of, I know what, I know what this play is supposed to be. I know what we're trying to do. And like, nope, that's not right. Even something like the ball went out of bounds late in the game and some of the Celtics were arguing and Joe Mazzulla was losing his mind and Ugo was like, no, don't challenge, don't challenge. Not that one. And so it's like, correct me if.
- [21:46]
B
I'm wrong, he wasn't even involved in that play. Right? Like, he just like knew, he knew it was a different player who, like, it went off of. And Ugo was the one who was like, no, no, no, you're not gonna win that one. Don't do that one.
- [21:57]
A
100%. Exactly. I forget it might have been Charman or something like that. But yeah, yeah, but yes, he was like, I saw him like, look at Joe. I'm like, yeah. And so it's like, yeah, it's like he is keenly aware of the situation. He sees the emotional like, reactions. So I, I think obviously right now when you talk about what is he giving you at present, we know that he's going to go out there and defend like crazy. He's going to file a couple of times. Yes, he's going to file and they're going to be sometimes where he is overly aggressive. And that's, that's a thing that he has to fix. He has to understand that certain things aren't allowed. Certain refs call things certain way. There's a cadence to the game, a cadence to the way it's called a flow that you have to be keenly aware of to be like, okay, I'm going to. I can't reach. Like I was reaching in the first quarter because now these things are happening and they're playing a certain way. Like the other team is playing a certain way where things that we were doing we have to adjust to. Like that it's so complicated. But he's, he's learning that stuff kind of on the fly, but in, in the process of that, you see the flashes and you're right. It's kind of hard to quantify what those flashes are. It's just like, you just know it. You're just like, okay, yeah, you know what, what is it that makes Ugo so look so good and make like, makes me so confident. Like, I just see it, I just see it.
- [23:37]
B
Well, and I mean there's, there are, there's some concrete ones, right? It's like, okay, how many, how many rookies, how many 19 year old rookies are there? Who. It's like if he could guard both ends of a. Jalen Brunson, Carl Anthony Towns, pick and roll, you know, like he could switch onto either of those guys. That, and you're, and you're like all Right. Like, I'm good with that. That's. That's special. Right? That. That's not normal. That's something to get excited about, you know, I mean, you know, and we saw a little bit. So he had that. That kind of a Euro sweep through move against Pascal yesterday. Nasty. Nasty. Like, he's. He's really good at attacking off, you know, off the dribble. He's great at, like, filling the lane in transition. There's all kinds of stuff that he can, like that you can point to right now. But it's like there's something beyond that stuff that he has and every Celtics fan is seeing it and is getting excited about it. I wrote. I wrote the other day on Boston Sports Journal, like Boston Sports Journal on Boston.com, who I write for. I wrote the other day on Boston.com like, you know, it's. It's going to be very difficult for Celtics fans not to get too excited about Hugo Gonzalez. But it's like, yeah, but also, like, fair enough. This. He's a very. He's an exciting. He's an exciting kid. You should be very excited about him.
- [24:52]
A
Which means we got to get to his future and what a future it is. Even though I can't quite explain it. But we're going to try to when we come back. Today's show is brought to you by Game time. You got to download that Game Time app because you're going to get yourself tickets to the game whenever you want to go see it. Maybe you weren't thinking about going to Celtics games, but now you want to and you want to get into that building. Maybe you're on the road and you're like, oh, man, I'd love to go see the Celtics come to town. Check it out. The Game Time app can give you a great advantage because it makes it very easy to get amazing tickets. Fast, simple, without the guesswork. I've used it a bunch. I've talked about, like, using it on the road when there's. Maybe there's an event. Sometimes we are in other cities when, you know, baseball or football is going on or the WNBA season overlaps a little bit and I get to check it out. And I always use the Game Time app. You can see the view from your seat right on the app. So you can make sure you're buying tickets to, you know, you're going to see what you want to see. They have zone deals that unlock great seats at an even better value. The price includes fees up front, so the total is very obvious from the Start. So whatever it is that you want to go to, make sure you're using the Game Time app. Take the guesswork out of buying tickets. Download the Game Time app, create an account, use the code locked on MBA and you're going to get $20 off your first purchase. That's L O C K E d locked on NBA. To get $20 off your first purchase, download game Time right now and get in on the action.
- [26:24]
B
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- [26:54]
A
Thank you for making Lockdown Celtics your first listen. Every day check out Lockdown NBA Lockdown NBA Game Night. I'm recording this show before the games and there's like 14 games in the association and then I will be doing another podcast with Jake Madison locked on NBA Game Night, covering every single game. We're going to get all of them in. You're going to get all caught up on the entire night in the NBA. So check that out next. You'll also get the Locked on NBA national feed on the the big the big topics in the afternoon. So check that out wherever you get your podcast. All right, let's wrap up this Christmas Carol themed discussion about Hugo Gonzalez by looking at his future. And other than saying like, man, this kid's gonna be really good, I honestly, I don't know what he's going to become. He. Is he going to become a, an elite like three and D guy? Like I, I feel confident saying he can be an elite defender if he wants to. He's already pretty close. Like he's already a really good defender, a couple years in the league and learning all the tricks and gaining a reputation and all that stuff. He has the potential to be a perennial all defensive team guy.
- [28:07]
B
Agreed. Yep.
- [28:09]
A
So then what does it become offensively? And this is the thing that I've always wondered and, and when I said before, hey, when you have three days off, send him to Maine for a day to go. Go just go run the offense, go be a, an offensive player and you know, see like, figure something out to work, whatever. Like I want to see him kind of work that I, I've given up on that because he is so necessary on the NBA level that, you know, this is, that's just like extra work and whatever. I trust that he's going to figure it out anyway. But you see these little flashes like you mentioned, that Euro step, that little bit of like, flair to his game. He hits a couple of shots here and there. If he can get that down. And I don't see anything in his jumper that doesn't, that, that doesn't like, lend itself to figuring out how to shoot. Yeah, I like, I like his form. His form feels right. I don't see, see a big weird elbow flare. I don't see any shimmies in there like Josh Minot. I just see just a regular jumper that you just need to get used to the distance and how to properly shoot that without like tiring yourself out and overcompensating. So I, I, I don't know what he's going to become. I don't know if he's going to become an, like a perennial All Star. Is he going to become the best player on the team someday? I, I honestly think the, the best way to look about his future is no ceilings whatsoever. I don't know which way it's going to go. He could become the best player on the team like after Tatum is done, after Jalen is done. There could be a transition to. This is Ugo Gonzalez's team. He is our All Star. He is our all NBA player. I truly believe that there is that potential for him. I'm not saying he's going to become that. I'm not saying, oh man, he's, But I can envision a path where it's like, dude, this guy, this guy is an all NBA player. Or like, he could just become an elite three and D guy, you know, and, and, or, I don't know. Actually, I don't want to say he's a three and D guy because, yeah, he's got too much, too much ability to get to the rim. So I, I, I, I skew the other way. I, I just, I don't know. I am honestly understand, I hear myself, I can hear the overreaction going on in my head, but it's because he has such a feel for the game. Dude, you've watched a lot of basketball and I know I'm talking forever right now. You know, when you see it, you see a kid play, you see a guy playing, you're like, dan, he's got something. He has got something. You know, we, again, food analogy. You, you taste like you go out and eat fried chicken at a bunch of different places. Then you have one, you're like, whoa, what do they put in this? This is. This is. There's something in there.
- [31:14]
B
That's.
- [31:14]
A
That's Ugo. It's like, man, there's something in there, man. It's spicy. It's good. And I think that just the potential is through the roof for him.
- [31:23]
B
Yeah, I agree. I. I think I'm with you too, on, like, balking at the 3 and D thing. Like that almost. It almost. That almost feels like a stereotype just because, like, you, you know, you look at him, you're like, yeah, maybe. I don't know, maybe I'll shoot threes. You know what I mean? But, like, no, he's. He's.
- [31:36]
A
He's better than that.
- [31:37]
B
He's better than that.
- [31:38]
A
He.
- [31:38]
B
And I think, know you go back to the Real Madrid tape, and it's like, well, he's running a lot of pick and rolls. He's a really good passer. Like, there's. There's a lot of passing potential in there too. I. I think one of the, you know, I, I think maybe one of the more still very. I'm very high on this kid, but maybe not like, you know, let's. Let's put him in the hall of Fame yet. Kind of take, right, Is like, what if you would, like. I think you could see some Derrick White in him, right? Like, where you've got this guy who can, who can defend at a really, really high level, who can block shots and get steals, you know, who can jump passing lanes. And also, he's taller than Derrick White and he's like, already, like, you know, he's more physically developed than Derrick White was at that age, you know, for sure. Like, he's. He is a. I think there's, I think, you know, if you looked almost any. I mean, what does a rich man's Derrick White look like? That's a heck of a player. You know, Derek White is awesome. And, you know, I. I think that there's. There's some of that, right? I think that one of the things, like we said, right, with. With Ugo, you're seeing a winning player. How else would you describe Derek? You know, like, just, like, just guys who know how to impact winning at a really high level. You know, it's interesting because I.
- [32:51]
A
With.
- [32:52]
B
With Ugo, there's all. There's almost a couple of these guys in the league right now where it's like, you know, the Thompson brothers, right? It's like, you look at them and I'm like, I don't know what I'm looking at, but I am looking at something awesome.
- [33:02]
A
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [33:03]
B
These guys. A little bit of that with Ugo too, you know, it's like I don't know precisely what I'm looking at, but I know it's special. I know there's something happening here and I know that that's, that's a guy who I'm definitely not throwing into a Zubots trade. You know what I mean?
- [33:16]
A
Damn right. Damn right. What if I said his floor is Derrick White?
- [33:23]
B
It almost feels disrespectful to Derek White. Right? Like a little bit NBA champion, you know, like, like.
- [33:30]
A
But that's, Listen, I, I'm, I am, I get again, I get what I'm saying. I get how I sound, but I can't help it with him. I can't help it with him. It's just I, and like maybe I want to be this full throated now before he turns into anything. So I can like clip this and go back to it someday. Because it's all about the victory laps. But I'm in on the ground floor on Ugo Gonzalez. And I do think, and I mean this is no disrespect to Derrick White. Yeah. I think that at the very least Ugo Gonzalez, when it's all said and done, will be at least Derrick White. I think, I think that's a good place to go. I'm glad you said it because that, I think that snaps a lot of it into place.
- [34:21]
B
Yeah. And I think the only caution I necessarily have is when you look at. So part of it, right. Is like he has, he's, he's so polished already. He's so developed already. There's a ton of places for him to go and he's gonna go there. And I'm, I'm with you. I would listen, I, I wanna, I wanna stake my claim on also on the ground floor of Hugo Gonzalez. I am very, very high on this kid. I also think that there is some level of like, okay, if you've been playing. Part of the reason you look polished is because you've been playing professional basketball. You've done a lot of your developing already. A ton of, a ton of growth to go. He's really young, but like he's also done more growing than some 19 year olds. Other 19 year olds probably have more areas of growth that they could come into. Right. You do see that sometimes with, with guys who come in and they're just like extra Prepared. Right. So, I don't know. I mean, I'm. I guess I'm not. I don't want to dampen anybody's enthusiasm about him because I'm just as enthusiastic. You know, I. But I'm not. I. I'm not quite ready to get to your levels, but I. But I love this kid. I think he's a spectacular prospect. I think. I think, man, I. It's tough because I. I don't necessarily want to say that his floor is Derek White, but, like, I see what you're saying.
- [35:44]
A
Yeah. Christmas Carol thing. Right now. I'm Scrooge. I'm opening the door after I've seen all those. Well, okay.
- [35:51]
B
You're.
- [35:51]
A
You're more screws than I am. I'm not.
- [35:54]
B
You're mentally healed Scrooge. I'm. I'm the Scrooge at the start of the book.
- [35:58]
A
Yeah, that's right. That's what I'm saying. Like, I'm the one that's opening the thing and like, Merry Christmas, everyone. Ugo Gonzalez will be Derek White, and. And Tiny Tim is cured, and here's food and money for.
- [36:10]
B
No, no, you're not saying he will be Derrick White. You're saying he's like, worst case scenario, he's a better Derrick White.
- [36:16]
A
The worst. The worst. The worst case scenario is that he is Derrick White, and Derrick White is tra. No, listen, this coming from me. I'm the. I'm a huge Derrick White guy. I'm the one that said that, like, this could be an All Star season for Derrick White. I. I'm a very huge Derrick White guy. So I mean this in the. In the highest of compliments. If Ugonzales. I mean, if you get to the 28th pick and you get yourself a Derrick White man.
- [36:41]
B
Wow.
- [36:42]
A
And people said Brad Stevens couldn't draft. Like, that's. You know what I mean? So. Yes. Am I being overly enthusiastic?
- [36:51]
B
I thought I was right. So Derrick White, if you get. Derrick White, went 29th. So, you know, there's a.
- [36:58]
A
There you go. So perfect. So better. He's one better.
- [37:05]
B
Like, like, you know, it's. It's very obvious. He's a better Derek White. That's what we've established.
- [37:10]
A
He's. There you go. All right.
- [37:13]
B
We'll.
- [37:13]
A
We'll wrap it up there. We'll go. We're going to, you know, we're gonna. We're gonna record our Christmas episode. We're gonna wrap this up, and then.
- [37:21]
B
You'Re gonna watch, and I'm gonna be in the exact same.
- [37:24]
A
Exactly what you're gonna see. We're gonna do a Christmas episode. We're gonna do like an Eastern Conference in Boston Celtics naughty and nice list. We're going to keep the Christmas theme going. We'll do naughty and nice lists for tomorrow's show. So make sure you're subscribed. Tom, I will dismiss you for now.
- [37:39]
B
All right, I'm seated. Yeah.
- [37:42]
A
Appreciate it. Stay right there. I do appreciate you sticking around. I appreciate you, the listener, the viewer who is here with me every Monday through Friday. Bonus podcast. They play in the weekends. This is like we blew through the weekend because the Celtics had two games. They just finished their three and four nights. Now a couple days off. It's Christmas. It's the holidays. So we're going to celebrate. We'll give you something to listen to or watch. You know, when people are over, put the show on tv. Hello. Merry Christmas, everybody. Who is celebrating? Hope you got something good. And if you want to do something good, maybe you can give somebody the gift of being the in the everyday or club. It's only five bucks a month or fifty bucks for the year Ad free audio access to our Discord server merchandise, all that stuff. It's all there. LockdownCeltics supercast.com Lockdown Celtics supercast.com To join that if we're on your Spotify rap tag the Lockdown podcast network and they will give you a coupon code for five, five bucks off so you get a free month. So do that and then give me a gift. Share the podcast. Tell everybody they should be listening to and watching the Lockdown Celtics podcast podcast. Here on the Lockdown Podcast Network, it's your team. Every day.
- [38:59]
B
Make memories that last a.
- [39:01]
A
Lifetime during the 70th celebration. From Paint the Night Parade.
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