Boston Celtics: 3 reasons why the C’s need to trade their picks
By Mark Nilon
Danny Ainge has little success outside of the top-10
Yes, it’s true, General Manager & President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge has found solid success of late in regard to the NBA Draft:
2014, he nabbed current heart and soul of the team, Marcus Smart.
2016, he selected a key core piece and arguable 2020 All-Star snub, Jaylen Brown.
2017, he drafted face of the franchise and first time All-Star, Jayson Tatum
However, in regard to his entire tenure, we’ve seen the franchise flop on a draft pick more times than he’s struck gold.
Since accepting an executive front office position with the Boston Celtics in 2003, Danny Ainge has taken part in 17 different drafts, and has come away with 47 total picks, 26 of which were first rounders.
Of those 26 first rounders, five lasted four or more seasons with the franchise. Of those four, three managed to make turn themselves into integral parts of Boston’s rotation.
Truth be told, the main successes Ainge has found during the draft have all come within the top-10 selections. Smart was drafted ninth overall and both Brown and Tatum were selected third overall in their respective drafts.
Outside of the top-10, history shows that the C’s GM has struggle quite a bit.
We recently published an article discussing the 2016 draft — the last time they had three first round picks — and discussed how things played out for the team. As previously stated, yes, they certainly chose right when they took Jaylen Brown third overall. However, their other two selections?
Not so great.
At 16, the C’s opted to take French forward Guerschon Yabusele and, at 23 they nabbed Croatian center Ante Žižić.
Now, clearly, four year later and we see that both of these players are no longer a part of the team — Žižić, specifically, never even suited up for Boston.
Looking at this, one may want to argue that, at this point in the draft pickings are typically slim. People tend to be under the perception that talent runs off as the picks go on.
And, while this is a relatively true statement, in regard to 2016 there were still a plethora of talents who are currently contributing and, some even thriving, with their current team that Danny Ainge could have very realistically selected:
- Caris LeVert — selected 20th overall
- Pascal Siakam — selected 27th overall
- Dejounte Murray — selected 29th overall
Of the players the Boston Celtics have selected outside of the top-10 since 2003, who has been their best player? Al Jefferson? Terry Rozier?
Sure, these are two players who proved to be solid NBA players, but let’s look at some of the other selections the franchise has made later on in drafts:
- R.J. Hunter (28th overall in 2015)
- James Young (17th overall in 2014)
- Fab Melo (22nd overall in 2012)
- J.R. Giddens (30th overall in 2008)
The list goes on and on.
If slide one wasn’t an indicator that Boston should look into trading their draft rights in 2020, this one should certainly push the needle in that direction.
Our third and final slide, however, is simply just the cherry on top of this idea to trade their picks.