Boston Celtics need to make youth a priority at pick 27
The Boston Celtics need to look for youth with the 27th pick in the NBA Draft
For the first time in years, the Boston Celtics will not be picking anywhere near the top of the draft. There is still a chance that they might trade up, but it does not make much sense with the state of the franchise right now.
Even if the Celtics may not be able to get any top talent from this draft, there is still a lot the Celtics can look for later in the first round. What we do know, however, is that the Celtics are not going to be getting another rookie that will contribute right away.
Right now, the Celtics will have a hard enough time figuring out how to have enough minutes for the players currently on the roster. Even for someone like Marcus Morris, who was a prominent piece all last season, there is no guarantee of minutes.
The Celtics have been able to get great contributions from a lot of rookies in recent years, but the franchise is in a different state right now. Even if they were picking in the lottery, it would be a near impossible task for anyone to be ready enough to have a role on this Celtics team.
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What that means, however, is that Ainge can focus entirely on the future with this draft pick. All other roster moves and decisions will be with a championship in mind next season, but the draft is the lone exception.
Unless the Celtics trade around or use their picks in a win now move, the Celtics need to look for high end potential, and avoid some of the older players that will be more of a finished product.
Keep in mind, most of the young potential will be going in the lottery. The Celtics will not be able to find that elite level of talent. Even so, the difference between getting a 22 year old and getting a 19 year old can be drastic.
It is not too far fetched to think you can find a senior like Grayson Allen, who can be drafted late in the first round and be ready to contribute right away. If it was even two years ago, the Celtics could have used that kind of player. Now, there is absolutely no space for even the most NBA ready rookie on this team, meaning someone like Allen may never get an opportunity to have any role.
The Celtics, however, are trying to find that low key young talent, maybe someone like Elie Okobo, and give them multiple years to develop. Who knows what this roster is going to look like in two or three years, and grabbing a 20 year old who can develop for a couple years could eventually become quite useful to the team.
The Celtics want a player that will be able to go down to the Maine Red Claws, and grow into something the Celtics will be able to use. The Celtics have no room for projects on this roster right now, but there are still things they need to work on.
One thing to keep in mind is Al Horford. Once his contract is up you cannot expect him to be the same caliber of player. An ideal situation would be the Celtics finding a intriguing young big that is as raw as anyone.
They can allow him to develop with the actual team with a chance to become a rotation player when the team looks a lot different.
This draft is going to be strictly about the future for the Celtics, so they will not even be considering what any rookie can do in their first season when evaluating this draft. High end potential is all that matters.
Next: Grayson Allen impressed Ainge
The Celtics have no use for middle of the pack rotation players on this roster, but that is usually the talent you will find later in the draft. An ideal situation at pick 27 would be Ainge finding another special talent hat is being overlooked, the kind of player they know will grow into something that can be useful when this roster inevitably goes through changes.