If the 2019-20 season winds up being over, the Boston Celtics will assuredly focus all their attention on this year’s NBA draft. Who might Danny Ainge consider selecting? The Houdini’s got you covered!
I think I speak for all Boston Celtics fans when I say the 2019-20 NBA season has been a roller coaster of emotions.
From losing the team’s two best players — Kyrie Irving & Al Horford — from 2018-19 this offseason to signing All-Star Kemba Walker on day one of free agency, signing Jaylen Brown to — seen at the time as — an “egregious” contract extension to Brown playing at a borderline All-Star & NBA Most Improved Player level and, most notably, from performing at quite a surprising fifth best record in the entire league to having the entire season stalled due to the Coronavirus outbreak.
Again, this season has seen an obscene amount of highs and lows for the Boston Celtics and, frankly, the entire league. But yet, for the most part, life goes on.
While the future of the current season is still up in the air, this year’s draft is still scheduled to commence — though the specifics such as time and place remain unknown. If this is actually the end of the 2019-20 season, team’s will begin to focus their attention on next year.
And the first domino to fall — if things remain the same –will be the NBA Draft, where the C’s would be picking thrice (their own pick as well as the Memphis Grizzlies and Milwaukee Bucks picks).
Today, we will be looking at who the team might decide to draft with the Grizzlies pick at 17.
Patrick Williams, F, Florida State
First on our list we have a player who would help improve an area of concern off the pine while also strengthening an already sound all-around defensive unit for the Boston Celtics. Patrick Williams has been an under-the-radar, 3-and-D contributor for Florida State University during his freshman season.
On the year, Williams has put up 9.2 points, four boards, one steal and one block per game on 46 percent shooting from the floor and 32 percent shooting from deep. His stature of 6-8, 225 pounds along with a wingspan of 6-11 allows him to also flourish in the paint and finish with ferocity at the rim.
He looks just as comfortable moving without the ball as he does with it, and has show a propensity to run the floor after grabbing a defensive rebound.
He has strong defensive skills, as he has recorded a 5.6 percent block rate and 2.6 percent steal rate in 2019-20.
Being that Beantown’s bench ranks 27th in 3-point percentage but third in defensive rating (50.8), adding a guy of Williams’ skill set should only help them on the perimeter while also helping them remain consistently solid on the defensive end for this team’s second unit.
Aleksej Pokuševski, C, Olympiacos
Disclaimer: The photograph above is not of Aleksej Pokuševski but, instead, the name of the ball club he plays for.
There were no images available to us via our platform that consisted of Pokuševski. That’s how under-the-radar this man is. However, he has the potential to be a fantastic asset for the Boston Celtics at some point down the road.
Aleksej Pokuševski is a 7-0 floor spacing big who can put the ball on the floor and has incredible court vision for someone his size. Despite being so young and raw, his skillset appears to be somewhere between a Nikola Jokic and Kristaps Porzingis; he has incredible size with an enormous wingspan of 7-3 who can run the floor, handle the ball well and is athletic enough to pick up the pace on a fast break and glide from one end of the court to the other in transition.
With the need for center help for the Boston Celtics, coupled with the fact that the team will have three picks in this upcoming draft, selecting a project player such as Pokuševski might not be such a bad option for the team. At just 18 years old the Serbian born baller could continue to hone his skills overseas in preparation for a chance to bring his talents to the world’s greatest basketball league sometime down the road.
If selected he should be seen as a project for sure. He needs to become more of a consistent contributor for his own ball club, work on his shooting percentages and, perhaps most important, bulk up — appears to be no more than 200 pounds. However, if the stars align for this mystery prospect, the C’s could wind up with a steal of a pick at a position they’d love to bolster.
Here are some highlights to see exactly what I’m talking about when it comes to Pokuševski.
Aaron Nesmith, F, Vanderbilt
Last but certainly not least we have Vanderbilt’s second year star, Aaron Nesmith. After his freshman season where he averaged a solid 11 points and 5.5 rebounds on 39 percent shooting from the field and 34 percent shooting from 3, 2019-20 saw Nesmith come into his own as a flat out baller and leader for his team.
Though his season was unfortunately cut short due to a foot injury, the wing managed to prove himself worthy of lottery consideration in 2020 with just 14 games played. In 35.7 minutes Nesmith was putting up stellar averages of 23 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.4 steals and just under a block per game while shooting 51 percent from the field and a whopping 52 percent from deep.
He proved capable of hitting both wide open shots as well as when smothered by an opposing team’s defense, which bodes well for his marksmanship to transition over well to the professional level.
His frame of 6-6, 213 pounds coupled with his speed and strength makes him a solid hybrid to play both the two and three spots in the NBA. Though his uninspiring 1.3 career assists averages may be of some concern for C’s fans, his scoring prowess and defensive chops may be too much to pass on for a team who could certainly use a player like Nesmith to give them more scoring power off the pine.
Barring any unforeseen setback with his recovery, Aaron Nesmith should be seen as a player high on the Boston Celtics’ draft radar in 2020.