Boson Celtics Draft Profile: Brice Johnson

Brice Johnson is one of many players that is making up a much better than usual senior draft class.  With a flurry of teenagers with high end potential coming out of the draft, the Boston Celtics may choose to spend one of their three first round draft picks on a ready made contributor. Johnson may not be projected to become a high end star player, but he possesses much of what the Celtics are lacking in their forwards, and he can immediately become a contributor for a front court that needs contributors right now.

One of the most tempting aspects of Johnson for the Celtics is his fit in Stevens’ system. He plays with an incredible motor that will make him fit in fine with emotional leaders Marcus Smart and Jae Crowder, and he plays with the kind of efficiency that the Celtics try to get out of every player on the court. His athleticism may not give him the same advantage when he gets to the NBA, but Johnson knows where he need to attack to be effective.

Johnson may not have the transformative potential to become a dominant scorer for the Celtics, but he brings a level of athleticism and explosiveness that the Celtics simply do not have on their roster, and he may be one of the only options later in the first round that can have such an immediate impact on the Celtics’ front court.

Johnson also has the mobility and size that will allow him to flourish in the Celtics’ small ball lineup. He did a great job adding to his frame and with his athleticism there is no doubting he would be a huge shot blocking upgrade on day one.

Johnson has the reliability and fit on the offensive end. His aggressiveness in the paint is something that the Celtics need and his athleticism will make him one of the best finishers at the rim that the Celtics have. He can add something on top of the kind of reliability that the Celtics have been getting from Amir Johnson.

The offense is a nice fit but the defense is how Johnson can make a real difference. Johnson’s great motor and aggressiveness is exactly how the Celtics like to play on the defensive end and it would be refreshing to get a player with that mentality that can physically impose his will on opposing defenses. Johnson may not force teams to completely alter their game plans, but there is no doubting that he will make it much more difficult for team to attack the Celtics in the paint.

The unfortunate part of Johnson is that despite spending four years in college, he still cannot be trusted as a ball handler for the Celtics. He cannot be asked to generate offense for his teammates, and that is a big part of the Celitcs’ offense. Johnson’s offensive impact will be limited to his ability to finish and the Celtics will need to look elsewhere for a forward that can generate offense. As it stands now, the front court is completely lacking of a player that can help run and generate the Celtics’ offense, and Johnson will not change that.

Johnson may not be an ideal long term pick for the Celtics, but they still need to address the state of their front court right now. Ideally, the Celtics will get a strong player in free agency but Johnson is one of the better late first round options that can actually contribute for the Celtics.

Stevens has proven that he will make the best of what he has and the bottom line is that Johnson gives him something completely new to work with. His athleticism on both ends could expand what Stevens is capable of doing with his lineups and he and Jordan Mickey have the potential to transform what the Celtics do with their small ball lineups.

Johnson has versatility with his size and with the sorry state of the Celtics’ front court a season ago, Stevens could find multiple ways to use Johnson. It may seem counter productive to draft someone like Johnson with Mickey waiting to be unleashed. That being said, the once unbearably cluttered front court could be losing Amir Johnson, Jared Sullinger, and Tyler Zeller, who has done little to suggest he will be a part of the future.

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The Celtics need to transform their front court and even though Johnson and Mickey is not a combo that would bring the shooting the Celtics need, they can certainly bring the one missing piece to their defense, rim protection.