Will the Celtics Draft All International Players?

There is a chance that the Celtics draft all international players in the first round

With three picks in the first round the Boston Celtics have the luxury to take some chances this year. They’re set to pick all over the first round so they have a great selection of prospects. While there are a lot of college stars the Celtics may look at, I wouldn’t count out Boston drafting three international players in the first round.

The Celtics have flown to Croatia to see Dragan Bender play in person. They’ve ran him through many drills and even watched him play in the team’s practice. There’s no doubt that there is mutual interest between the two as Bender has also said that he’d be willing to workout for the Celtics once Maccabi Tel Aviv’s season concludes.

While Buddy Hield is also an appealing option for the Celtics, you couldn’t fault them for taking a chance on the 7’1″ power forward. The Celtics are in desperate need of adding quality depth to their front court and many people think Bender has a chance to end up as the best player in this year’s draft.

He might struggle during his rookie season at times but his scoring ability is hard to pass up. He’d give the Celtics another three-point shooting big man, however, he can also drive to the basket. It’s not completely polished but there’s not many NBA-ready players available in this year’s draft.

Defensively, he doesn’t have the build yet to battle inside as often as Boston would like, although his lateral quickness on the perimeter is something not seen in many seven-footers. He can guard the perimeter and once he bulks up a little he should be a serviceable defender in the paint.

All in all, there should be minutes to go around for Bender as a rookie. There’s a good chance that he could develop into the Celtics’ franchise big man in a couple of seasons. While there are a lot of options with the third pick, Dragan Bender seems to be the favorite as of now.

There is less certainty surrounding the 16th pick in the draft. The Celtics could draft a player who could come in right away and contribute, or they could draft another project. There’s also not a lot of certainty about which position the Celtics will target. Adding more depth to an otherwise weak front court wouldn’t be a bad idea, however, the Celtics also need help at small forward and need to add a shooter.

They can fill both of those needs by drafting Furkan Korkmaz out of Turkey. Korkmaz is a 6’7″ shooting guard who definitely needs to bulk up a little (175 pounds) but is already an NBA-ready scorer. His small build will make it hard for him to guard NBA players early, however, he’s still very young and should continue to get bigger. Besides, the best part about a Furkan Korkmaz selection would be he might not come over this season.

He is working on trying to get a buyout with his current team but the Celtics won’t rush him over to the states this season. He didn’t see a lot of minutes last season so he would benefit from playing another season overseas to work on his defense. Korkmaz is projected to be a good defender in the NBA, although, he’s still young and doesn’t have a lot of experience playing at the professional level.

Also, the Celtics back court is really crowded right now and it’d be hard for him to find minutes right away.

A spot in the rotation should open up for him by next season once the Celtics have another season of scouting R.J. Hunter and James Young under their belt. It’d also be hard not to play a guard with great size next to Isaiah Thomas as Korkmaz is a natural-born scorer and would make a great compliment next to Thomas. He can score from anywhere on the court but especially thrives from the perimeter, making him a perfect catch-and-shoot candidate on fast breaks.

The reality is that Korkmaz will probably come over to the NBA this upcoming season, taking up another roster spot for the Celtics. That could force Boston’s hand by drafting a player they can stash overseas for a year or two with the 23rd pick. That player was suppose to be Ante Zizic but he recently said he wants to come over to the NBA right away.

Source: 6-foot-11 first-round draft prospect Ante Zizic going straight to NBA. No stash. Kid won FIBA Center of the Year.
— David Pick (@IAmDPick) June 3, 2016

This seemed like the perfect draft and stash pick for Boston as Zizic is still a couple years away from being really good. With that being said there is no doubt that the Celtics need help in their front court and adding Zizic and Bender could set the tone for their future plans.

Zizic is one of the best rebounders in the draft – a big reason why he was named the FIBA Center of the Year. He is way beyond his years in that category due to his willingness to take on contact down low and his excellent fundamentals. He’s also a big body that isn’t easily pushed around on the block but can step out and guard the pick-and-roll on defense.

On offense, Zizic gets his points off his energy. He lives off easy baskets by grabbing offensive rebounds and is an excellent free-throw shooter. Zizic is still pretty raw on offense, which is why a lot of people thought he would stay overseas for another season. However, he has the potential to develop a mid-range game and is already a good finisher around the basket.

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The jury is still out on Ante Zizic as some people – like myself – see him as a future starter in the NBA, although others don’t think he’s anything more than an energy guy off the bench. I get why a lot of people think that since he’s going to need time in the D-League or NBA minutes early in his career for him to reach his full potential since he’s still fairly raw.

There are a lot of aspects of his game that make him a late lottery selection, however, the risk and uncertainty about his development on offense is why he’ll likely be there when the Celtics pick.

All three players add something different to the Celtics, and fill a big hole. It may be unconventional to draft three international players in the first round, especially if none of them stay overseas, but it’s a route the Celtics should look at.

Next: Boston Celtics Stay Focused on Long Term Future

They’d instantly bulk up their future front court and add an offensive spark off the bench. The biggest problem is finding them all NBA minutes early in their careers.

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