What To Watch For: Busy Night Ahead For Celtics At NBA Draft
BOSTON (CBS) -- One of the biggest days for Danny Ainge's Celtics has finally arrived.
Ainge and the Celtics own eight picks in this evening's NBA Draft, a night the Boston brass is hoping will be part of their big steps towards becoming a title contender once again. Whether that's by way of trades or actually making their selections remains to be seen, making this Thursday night in June rather extremely intriguing for hoop heads.
The rumors have come fast and furious since Boston's season ended on April 29, and if one thing is clear, the Celtics are looking to deal from their stable of picks for some proven NBA talent. Unfortunately, that is proving to be even more difficult than it sounds.
The Celtics have plenty of other needs in addition to a star. While a proven vet will likely check a few things off of Ainge's offseason to-do list, the Celtics need to find someone who can knock down shots on a consistent basis and a big man to protect the rim and pull down some rebounds.
Before we get any further, here is what Ainge and company have to work with heading into Thursday night:
First Round
No. 3
No. 16
No. 23
Second Round
No. 31
No. 35
No. 45
No. 51
No. 58
All Eyes On No. 3
The biggest asset of the night is the third pick, whether the Celtics use it or trade it. If they are forced to take it, they'll have their pick of anyone not named Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram.
The Boston brass has said they'll go with a "best player available" approach at No. 3, and they've worked hard over the last few months to determine who that is. NBA experts and pundits from everywhere can't seem to figure that one out, as you can see from the collection of different players on their various mock drafts. But here are the likeliest of candidates, should Boston keep that selection:
Kris Dunn (Providence): A gifted guard who can be explosive on offense, an above-average passer and tenacious on defense, though consistency is a bit of an issue. The Philadelphia 76ers (who own the first overall pick) are reportedly high on Dunn, so if the C's draft him look out for a potential trade. Essentially, don't go ordering a custom Kris Dunn Celtics jersey in the moments following the selection.
Buddy Hield (Oklahoma): A prolific scorer, Hield was a four-year shot-making machine for the Sooners. He was named Big 12 Player of the Year in each of the last two seasons and won the John R. Wooden Award, given to the best college basketball player, his senior year after averaging 25 points per game and leading the nation in three-point shooting. There are questions about his overall game, but there's no denying his offensive talents.
Jamal Murray (Kentucky): Another one-and-done guy at Kentucky, Murray is a gifted scorer that could give the Celtics some solid shooting if they're not impressed with Hield's overall game. It's unclear if he's a point guard or shooting guard, but he shot 40 percent from downtown and had 11 straight 20+ point game for the Wildcats in his only season in college. Defense is a big question with Murray, but the Celtics' roster is full of guards who can play defense. If they want to address their shooting needs in the draft, Murray is the guy.
Jaylen Brown (Cal): A gifted wing player who can score and can use his size (6-foot-7, 222 pounds) on the defensive end of the floor, even against bigger players. He'll need to improve his overall jumper, despite an impressive showing at his workout with the C's.
Dragan Bender (Croatia): You may have heard a thing or two about this 18-year-old, the international man of mystery in this year's draft. No one really knows what Bender can bring to the NBA after barely playing in Israel, but he's said to be a super athletic big man who can guard smaller players and step out and hit a deep shot. We just don't really know, on account very few have actually seen him play organized basketball.
Bender has been pegged to go as high as No. 3 and as low as No. 8. We'll see if Ainge was impressed after watching Bender firsthand over in Europe and at a solo workout earlier this week. It's a big risk and selecting Bender, who is likely at least a few years away from doing anything in the NBA, would signify a much longer rebuild for Boston. It's an intriguing selection given what Kristaps Porzingis did with the Knicks last year, but for every Porzingis there has been about five Andrea Bargnanis.
My Pick: If there are no trades to be made, draft Murray. He gives the C's a consistent scorer other than IT, and Stevens can get really creative with some guard-heavy lineups. He joins an already crowded group of guards on the team, but moves will be made this summer to clean up that logjam.
For a detailed list of players the Celtics could target with each of their picks, check out The Adam Jones Show's NBA Draft Lists.
Trading For A Star (Kind Of)
The Celtics need a bona fide star to lead the way for Isaiah Thomas and the rest of Boston's young roster, and really, no one should be considered "untouchable" in Ainge's quest to acquire one. Fans fell in love with the gritty group that took the floor with pride and confidence nearly every night last season, but that team isn't bringing home a banner anytime soon. So anyone should be available if the right move comes along.
Chances are Jimmy Butler, Paul George and DeMarcus Cousins won't be members of the Celtics come Friday morning. Ainge's trade efforts are being shot down around the league, which on the surface is a bit disheartening. But once the clock starts Thursday night, all of that could change. The best case scenario is obviously a trade for Butler or Cousins, and that will take more than the third pick and a handful of other selections this year. Chances are Chicago or Sacramento would demand one of the two future Brooklyn picks Ainge has in his back pocket (Boston can swap picks with the Nets next year and own their 2018 pick), which for those players, would be easier to part with.
But given those two scenarios are unlikely (at least as of Thursday morning), it's time to temper expectations on that front. Gordon Hayward may or may not want out of Utah, so that's one situation to monitor. Ainge reportedly turned down Philadelphia's offer of either Jahlil Okafor or Nerlens Noel for the No. 3 pick, so we'll see just how much the 76ers like Kris Dunn when the Celtics get on the clock for the first time Thursday night. Maybe they'll sweeten their offer a bit to get Ainge to bite.
Let's not forget that with Trader Danny, it's usually the deals you don't hear much about (or anything about) that end up coming to fruition. Ray Allen was barely mentioned in rumors back on Draft night in 2007, and the Kendrick Perkins-Jeff Green swap came out of nowhere as the buzzer sounded at the 2011 trade deadline.
Patience is key on the trade front, both for the front offices pulling off the deals and the fans awaiting them.
Trading Up, Down Or Out
That No. 3 pick is the likeliest to be traded, and other picks could be included into that package, but don't be surprised if a handful of Boston's eight selection get dealt throughout the night.
Can the Celtics package picks 16 and 23 to grab another lottery pick if someone they like falls? And can they get another late first rounder for their two picks in the 30s? As a good man once told us, anything is possible (we'll save the exclamation points for an actual trade).
There will also be plenty of teams looking to get into the first round, as ten teams are without a pick in the first 30 selections: The New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Washington Wizards, Oklahoma City Thunder, Portland Trail Blazers, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz
In fact, the Knicks, Heat, Wizards, Thunder, Blazers and Cavs don't have a pick at all. That puts the Celtics (and unfortunately, the 76ers) in a prime position to deal picks from this year for future considerations.
Ainge will have a dozen or so phones ready to roll Thursday night -- hopefully a few of them ring quite a bit.
Draft And Stash?
The Celtics won't be making all eight picks, but they do have the luxury to draft players and stash them overseas for a little more seasoning.
There's are a pair of Croatian centers not-named Bender who are prime candidates for the ole "Draft & Stash": 19-year-olds Ante Zizic and Ivica Zubac. Boston could take a flyer on either with their third selection in the first round and send them to Europe for another season or two to fine-tune their skills.
Other candidates include shooting guard Isaia Cordinier out of France, power forward Juan Hernangomez (yes, that's a real name) of Spain and small forward Rade Zagorac of Serbia.
Second Round Steals
With five picks in the second round, Danny Ainge has to hit on at least one of them, right?
There are plenty of candidates, some of them listed above in the Draft & Stash section. You can add Chinese center Zhou Qi to that list too, though the seven-footer may be ready to take a spot on an NBA roster.
A few other names to think of when the first 30 selections are in the books: Providence's Ben Bentil and Vanderbilt's Damian Jones. Either could go late in the first round, but if they're available at 31st or 35th Ainge would have to think about either of them.
Bentil actually had a better year for the Friars than Dunn did last season, averaging 21.1 points, 7.7 rebounds and a block per game. The athletic forward can go to work near the basket or around the arc, and is drawing comparisons to Draymond Green. That doesn't mean he's the next Draymond Green, but those comparisons are fair given Bentil's 6-foot-9, 235-pound frame.
Jones has a very high ceiling, and it's not just because of his 7-foot frame and 7-foot-3 wingspan. He averaged 13.9 points 6.9 rebounds per game as a junior last season, and could turn into an NBA starter at some point.
