The Boston Celtics have managed to strike gold through the NBA Draft in recent years. However, this does not mean they haven’t missed out on some quality talent as well. Here are 2 specific players they passed on in 2016.
Over the past decade the Boston Celtics have found themselves with an outrageous amount of draft capital thanks in large to the now famous — or infamous, depending on where your allegiance lies — 2013 trade that sent Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to Brooklyn.
In exchange, the C’s received irrelevant salary matching contracts (Kris Humphries, Gerald Wallace, etc.) and future first round draft picks in 2014, 2016 and 2018. While the players received didn’t ever wind up making any long-lasting impacts for the franchise (none but Wallace stayed past that season) the draft assets acquired have managed to blossom into part of the main foundation for this current iteration of the team, namely Jaylen Brown (2016) and Jayson Tatum (2018).
Since this deal, Danny Ainge managed to work his way into acquiring 10 — including Brooklyn’s — additional first round draft picks that spans into this upcoming draft (own the rights to the Memphis Grizzlies and Milwaukee Bucks picks).
Barring any unforeseen trades, the Boston Celtics will be on the clock three times in the first round for this year’s NBA Draft. The last time they held this much draft picks was during the 2016 draft.
This was the night that the team nabbed Brown third overall, which would make one believe the night was a complete success for the franchise — after all, the wing was arguably an All-Star snub this season and is boasting averages of 20.4 points and 6.4 rebounds on 49 percent shooting from the field and 38 percent shooting from deep.
However, when examining the decisions they made with their two proceeding picks, one could certainly say they whiffed on making the team even better than they currently are.
Aside from the third overall selection the C’s held the rights to the 16th and 23rd overall picks. You may know who they chose with said selections, but perhaps you’re unaware of whom they could and, frankly, should have chosen.
With this in mind, the Houdini will bring you on a trip down memory lane and show you the two players the Celtics selected, and the players they could have drafted instead.
Guerschon Yabusele, PF
Now look, we understand that past the top-10, pickings were relatively slim in regard to talent. However, even still, selecting Guerschon Yabusele at 16 overall was a reach right from the start.
For the months leading up to the NBA Draft, virtually every single mock draft saw the C’s selecting someone else — Malik Beasley, Deyonta Davis, etc. Even up to the day of the draft, Boston was projected to select someone else, with mocks having Yabusele going as a high second round selection.
But, as we all now know, Danny Ainge pulled the trigger on his second lottery pick and aimed it at the French forward.
At 6-8, 270 pounds the 20 year old was seen as a risky prospect right from the get go, for he had quite a rounded physic and lacked the size to handle traditional NBA fours when playing defense.
I mean, sure, obviously Yabusele proved to be an interesting project player to consider for NBA teams while playing overseas, what with his solid averages of 21.5 points and 9.5 rebounds on 54 percent shooting from the field and 39 percent shooting from deep.
However, again, it must be stated that NO ONE reportedly saw him getting selected in the first round. And, yet, the Boston Celtics went ahead and, not only reached on Yabusele, but made an almost guaranteed second rounder into a lottery pick.
Caris LeVert, SG/ SF
Heading into the year’s NBA Draft, many teams were weary of Caris LeVert. Undergoing two surgeries on his left foot in the span of 22 months — 24 by the time of the draft — the wing’s stock plummeted tremendously.
However, looking at their eventual pick of Guerschon Yabusele it’s evident that the Boston Celtics were willing to take chances at 16, and when LeVert did step onto the hardwood during his collegiate career, he easily looked like a lottery player.
By the time his senior season rolled around with the Michigan Wolverines the wing saw himself serving as his team’s top-dog. In 31 minutes per game LeVert was averaging career highs of 16.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists on 51 percent shooting from the floor and 45 percent shooting from three.
His size (6-7, 200 pounds) coupled with his impressive skill set was very intriguing coming into the draft, as he looked capable of playing both the two and three guard at the professional level.
And now four years in, he’s proven to do exactly that.
Serving as one of the Brooklyn Nets’ primary players, LeVert is finding himself averaging 17.7 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game on 41 percent shooting from the field and 38 percent shooting from deep.
He has managed to improve his game every year since coming into the league, and even netted himself a 3-year, $52 million deal this past offseason, proving the Nets believe they nabbed a player worth keeping long term with the 20th pick from 2016.
The C’s with their selection four slots earlier? Not nearly as happy with the outcome — they waived Yabusele two months prior to when LeVert received his extension.
At the time of the draft, the 21 year old was viewed as a high risk and an even higher reward prospect. Now, at 24, he’s proven to have put his left foot injury behind him, leaving Brooklyn with all the rewards Boston could have received had they selected him with this pick.
Ante Žižić, C
Now, this one’s a little tricky, as the Boston Celtics wound up shipping off Ante Žižić before he ever even suited up for the team. Here’s how his Celtics tenure played out
- June 23rd, 2016: Drafted 23rd overall by the Boston Celtics
- July 1st, 2017: Officially signed his NBA rookie contract after spending the previous years honing his skills overseas in the Turkish League
- August 22, 2017: Traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers along with Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder and a Brooklyn Nets 2018 first round pick for Kyrie Irving
One could certainly argue this pick doesn’t really matter, for Žižić has only played for the Cleveland Cavaliers over the past three years and hasn’t really turned into anything more than an average role player: averages six points and 3.9 rebounds on 58 percent shooting from the floor.
However, we here at the Houdini view this as a wasted pick.
Wasted?! How could it be wasted? It landed us Kyrie Irving!
To you, the voice in my head, I say you’re right… but, with how that period in Celtics history ended — no ring and, with Irving on the floor, no closer to a championship than they were prior — we will continue to view this selection of Ante Žižić as a wasted pick.
Viewed by many as a high-energy player with great athleticism for someone his height, the center was seen as a draft-and-stash prospect until he was ready to make his transition to the NBA. However, even with this, it was widely noted that his offensive game was severely lacking and at best people viewed him as a solid contributor in the league down the road.
With the fact that the C’s — at the time — already had guys like Al Horford, Amir Johnson, Kelly Olynyk and Tyler Zeller on the roster, this pick was obviously a choice of adding depth to an already solidified rotation.
Look, with the selection of Ante Žižić, nothing really happened to the C’s aside from them getting Irving. However, at 23 there was a player available that, if selected, could have, in theory, prevented the whole Kyrie trade fiasco from happening……
Dejounte Murray, PG
Truth be told, we were thinking of Pascal Siakam for this slide in the beginning. However, us doing that would simply be an unrealistic claim saying that the Boston Celtics should have selected him at 23 for, frankly, when he was drafted at 27th overall, the media had a field day chastising the Toronto Raptors for reaching on the projected second round talent.
In short: no one expected Siakam to be this good.
However, one player that was available at this point in the draft and who was highly coveted leading into the night was the, now, San Antonio Spurs point guard Dejounte Murray.
In his one-and-done season with the Washington Huskies, Murray put himself in the conversation as one of the best prospects in the 2016 draft, being projected to go early in the first round in nearly every mock-up.
In 33.5 minutes a night the point guard put up impressive averages of 16.1 points, six rebounds and 4.4 assists per game on 42 percent shooting from the floor.
Outside of a consistent jumper Murray seemed to have all the intangibles necessary to transition to the next level: speed, court-vision, rebounding skills, length and hustle.
At 6-5, with an impressive wingspan of 6-10, Murray also looked to have the makings of a solid defensive prospect in the NBA on top of having solid, yet raw, offensive skills — averaged just under two steals a game in college.
I get it, the team already had Isaiah Thomas in tow, fresh off of his first All-Star appearance. With this in mind, yes point guard seemed to be the least of their worries.
However, outside of IT, the C’s backcourt could have certainl used some bolstering.
At 23rd overall, a team should aim to nab the best talent available, as pickings will be slim. With the fact that Murray, a player some even projected to go as high as top-12, was still available Danny Ainge should have jumped at the opportunity to draft the lengthy young talent.
Instead, he went with the not even NBA ready Ante Žižić, and Murray wound up going 29th overall to the Spurs, where he is now blossoming into a really solid NBA point guard — averaging 10.7 points, 5.8 rebound, 4.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game on 48 percent shooting from the floor and 38 percent shooting from three.
Had the Celtics drafted the guard instead of Žižić, who knows; perhaps things could have been different at this point in time.
Perhaps with Dejounte Murray in the point guard whisperer Brad Stevens’ system, he could have found ample playing time during his rookie year–giving Thomas more time to rest — which could have, in turn, prevented his career altering hip injury.
Even if the injury still happened, perhaps the front office wouldn’t have made that trade for Kyrie Irving in the first place, opting instead to bestow Thomas the proper time to rehabilitate and give their most recent first round point guard an opportunity to prove his worth with the suddenly wide open starting one spot.
Look, we’re well aware that hindsight is 20/20; no one can predict the future. Still, with so many first round draft picks over the past several years the Boston Celtics have, at the moment, only come away with two mainstays in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.
The 16th and 23rd overall picks from the 2016 draft are just two examples of Danny Ainge and co. whiffing at the opportunity to build up the team’s roster to their absolute fullest potential.