Top Boston Celtics Scenarios Following the Sixers Trade
By Adam Miller
Do the Celtics Trust the Process?
This situation took a lot of soul searching. So I went on a walk along a nearby lake, skipped a few rocks and read some deep poetry. Nah, I’m just kidding I just went on YouTube and looked up Michael Porter Jr. highlights and all was well.
Don’t forget Celtics fans, the Nets just traded their best player Lopez to the Lakers in exchange for Russell. While this was a good move for the long haul of things it makes them significantly worse this coming season. This gives the Celtics yet another prime opportunity to snatch the #1 overall pick yet again.
I know Fultz is crazy good, but trust me when I say that Porter has a chance to be much better. He’s 6’10, has handles, awesome post up moves and a sweet sweet jumper. To quote Tom Westerholm of MassLive,
"“Near 7-footers who can handle, shoot 3-pointers off the dribble and slash to the basket at a high level don’t come along often, and when they do, you pay attention.”"
Porter has a legit chance to be a top-5 player in the NBA, so I can live with waiting another year.
On top of that they have the Lakers pick. Here’s another team that’s going nowhere fast. It’s true they may be better than last season, but if they don’t get George I don’t think it’ll be by much. Lopez was good, but obviously didn’t change the fact that the Nets stunk last year. Even with the addition of Ball I think the Lake Show is probably doomed to be in the lottery for 1-2 more years. If that’s the case, then they have a shot at another potential superstar in the 2018 class.
The three players that stand out to me are Mohamed Bamba, Luka Doncic or DeAndre Ayton. Bamba is skinny a 7-footer who projects to be a monster defensively. DraftExpress’ report notes his incredible upside given his tools, defensive versatility, budding offensive skill set and overall IQ.
Doncic is another extremely intriguing prospect. He’s an overseas prospect who can legitimately play any position from the 2 to the 4. He has an arsenal of moves including a fadeaway, step-back and euro-step. He his shooting and passing make him a deadly offensive weapon. If you want to be impressed, just look up some of his highlights.
Finally we have my favorite of the bunch, DeAndre Ayton. Ayton has issues with his game such as an inconsistent shoot and a tendency to lose himself in the game, but his potential is extremely high. He’s huge at 7’0, 240 pounds. He has great defensive potential and he even flashes a three point shot. If Ayton can fix the holes in his game he could be the best of the bunch.
This is all the positives so far without even mentioning this year’s pick. It’s more than likely that the pick will end up being either Tatum or Jackson. With Tatum, you get a polished wing scoring ready to step in immediately as a small-ball 4. His extra scoring punch could be exactly what we need to take the team to another level. On the other hand, you have Jackson who is the best on-ball defender in the group. He possesses amazing athleticism and if he can harness his shot there’s a real chance he mirrors Leonard in terms of skill set.
Next: What Makes Josh Jackson Different
Whatever the case may be, don’t freak out Celtics fans, we have options.