Are Lack of Jackson and Ball Workouts a Concern for Boston Celtics?

Are Josh Jackson and Lonzo Ball off of the Boston Celtics’ radar with the third overall pick?

The Boston Celtics shocked the NBA by trading away the first overall pick, and giving up their opportunity to take the supposed generational talent Markelle Fultz. Who knows how many factors went into the decision, but the Celtics clearly did not see the same superstar potential in Fultz.

Fortunately, this is a top heavy draft, and the Celtics have a lot of options at number three. The problem, however, is that the Celtics still have not worked out the two highest touted prospects after Fultz in Lonzo Ball and Josh Jackson.

There is still time, and it is possible the Celtics made a decision without any workout. That being said, it is a major red flag that the Celtics have not shown interest in those players, and it appears as though the names we should be paying attention to are Dennis Smith Jr. and Jayson Tatum, who have both worked out for the Celtics.

Ainge has a long history of making unconventional picks, and has often been criticized for taking players that could have been available later on. The way things are shaping up now, it appears as though that will also be the case this season.

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A trade is still possible, but smart money is on the Celtics making this pick, and there will be a lot of concern from fans who see a clear top three in this draft class, none of which seem to be on Boston’s radar.

Again, this is not the be all end all. The good news is that Ainge should still be able to get his favourite player in the draft. The problem is that he is going to be chastised if he continues to make the unconventional picks that have followed him around his entire career.

With the amount of top end talent in this draft, this is a year that Ainge really cannot afford to miss. If there is a somewhat clear top three, all of whom have an opportunity to be stars in this league, Ainge may not be able to recover from passing on all three of them by going against the consensus at this point.

The frustrating part is that we will not have a definitive answer for years. All these players are still a work in progress, and at such a young age even Fultz could be in line for a disappointing rookie season, without taking anything away from their career trajectory.

Hopefully the Celtics will get all the workouts they need, and that can give the fans a bit more confidence that Ainge is making the right decision. The problem, however, is that people will have a problem with passing on someone like Jackson, without seeing him workout.

For some people, trading away that top pick is already unforgivable. If Ainge strays away from conventional opinion once again, and takes a player that many are predicting to go outside of the top five, then he will be all alone on an island, hoping Brad Stevens can turn his pick into the kind of star the other players are being touted as.

It could also be the case that these players are resisting a workout with the Celtics. While they are, by far, the best team picking in the top three, rookies cannot expect too much playing time in their first season.

Ball has made it clear that he wants to play for the Lakers, and a lot of that may have to do with the appeal of taking over a team. On the Celtics, he would have to right just to get a bench role.

A similar thing can be said about Jackson, who is similar to Jaylen Brown in many ways. It will take more time for these rookies to break out on the Celtics, even if that means getting them a lot closer to a championship.

Ainge has gone from the easy sure thing top pick, to complete chaos at the third pick. There are probably at least five different players that Ainge could realistically select, and you cannot ignore how they are picking and choosing which players to work out.

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In the end, all the Celtics can do is trust Ainge. He draft record is not quite as good as his trading record, but after all the work Ainge has put in to get the Celtics to this point, he deserves the opportunity to make the best decision for this team with the third overall pick.

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