Boston Celtics Mock Draft: projecting each C’s pick in the 2020 NBA Draft
By Mark Nilon
The Boston Celtics hold the rights to three first round selections in this year’s draft. The Houdini’s here to tell you who the team should nab with each pick.
Prior to the COVID-19 induced hiatus that took place on March 11th, the Boston Celtics found themselves in the midst of yet another successful season.
Through 64 outings the shamrocks boasted a record of 43-21, placing them third in the Eastern Conference, fifth in the entire league and headed to their sixth straight playoff appearance — clinched a postseason berth on March 10th with a win over the Indiana Pacers.
Yet, even with all this success, the team still finds themselves having significant value heading into this year’s NBA Draft. Usually it’s the losing franchises like the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers that find themselves holding immense value in the draft, but the C’s have managed to put themselves into these fantastic positions with savvy and impressive trades over the years.
Since the 2013 deal that sent Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to the Brooklyn Nets, President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge has managed to acquire 13 additional draft picks, two of which found themselves at number three overall where they nabbed Jaylen Brown in 2016 and Jayson Tatum in 2017.
The treasure trove of draft assets will continue to flow through into this year’s upcoming draft, where the Celtics are projected to be on the board for three separate occasions. Holding the rights to the Memphis Grizzlies and Milwaukee Bucks picks on top of their own, if the draft were to be held tomorrow Boston would hold the 17th (Memphis), 26th (their own), and 30th (Bucks) picks.
Now, with the league’s suspension, dates once considered set in stone are now seemingly up in the air, as no one has a clue as to when this season might actually start up again, if ever. That said, though there is so much uncertainty surrounding the remainder of the 2019-20 campaign and it’s proceeding events, one thing is for sure: eventually, things will commence.
With this in mind, we’ve focused our attention on this year’s NBA Draft, and who the Boston Celtics should look to select with each of their three picks.