Celtics Draft Grade
The Celtics actually made some decent selections in last night’s draft. I really thought that Ainge would try and trade the third pick before and during the draft, but nothing ever happened. Porzingis and Paul George were both up on the trading block but the Celtics could not make deal with either the Knicks or the Pacers. What the Celtics did do was draft three players that can really put the ball in the hoop.
With the third pick the Celtics selected Jayson Tatum out of Duke. Now if you know me, I am a huge Duke fan. I watched almost of all of Dukes games this year and saw a lot from Tatum. I wish the C’s drafted Jackson because he was the best player in the draft, but that’s a story for another day. Tatum is a good ball handler that can get to the hoop when ever he wants. He also has a magnificent turn around jump shot that surprises people. He even has a sweet Dirk like fade away shot that I am always impressed by. One of his weaknesses is that he is a one on one type player and needs to polish up his passing game. He is also not ready to defend at the NBA level yet. If he can turn out to be an efficient scorer then that will take a load of IT’s back. One last thing on Tatum, the kid is only 19 years old. His game is so smooth and the games looks easy to him. He will contribute to the Celtics this year and may even get a few starts.
Funny enough, the Celtics drafted two Blue Devils last night. Well sort of, Semi Ojeleye went to Duke before he transferred to SMU. Ojeleye will be a little project for the Celtics, but he should transform into a nice player. He is a power forward but is versatile enough to play at small forward. Ojeleye should transform into a nice combo forward that can stretch the floor and create his own shot off the dribble.
With their last pick, the Celtics selected Jabari Bird . This was a surprise pick by the Celtics because Bird was not on a lot of draft boards. He missed his first 8 games last season and then he ended up getting a concussion in his last game with Cal. Bird is a streaky 3pt shooter that can get hot and stay hot. He is also extremely gifted on defense and can keep up with most guards. I would compare him to Avery Bradley. Do not expect Bird to contribute much at all to the Celtics this upcoming season. It will be hard for him to get his 3pt shot going if he is coming off of the bench.
Draft Grade: B+
Written By: Connor Strayer (@Big_C19)