Boston Celtics: 3 NBA Draft replacements for likely C’s departees

The Boston Celtics might find themselves in need of some replacements for potentially departing players. The NBA Draft could be a good place to nab them.

Though there may be some departees from the roster this offseason, the Boston Celtics will have many verticals to choose from in an effort to fill some of their potential vacancies.

From free agency to the trading department, Beantown could find themselves quite busy during this in-between season timeframe. That said, of all the upcoming event periods, the first to come will be the 2020 NBA Draft, where the Cs hold the rights to 3 first-round picks.

Obviously, with the current state of their salary-cap, Boston will need to find cheap replacement options should some of their players jump ship this November. Should this happen, the draft is easily the route that makes the most sense both financially and feasibly.

If they opt to proceed in this fashion should they need to find replacements within the rotation, there are a few draft targets that could fill 3 specific players’ shoes:

NBA Draft replacement for Gordon Hayward: Deni Avdija, Maccabi Tel Aviv

This slot right here is based on a bunch of “what ifs” and recent rumors.

While for the majority of the season we all anticipated that Gordon Hayward would be opting into the final year of his 4-year, $127 million contract, recent rumblings suggest that the former All-Star may want out of Beantown.

Should this happen, obviously there would be a 6-8 hole within the rotation that just posted really solid season averages of 17.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.1 assists on 50 percent shooting from the field and 38 percent shooting from downtown.

Alongside this report, there has also been another pertaining to how the Boston Celtics could be interested in moving up in the NBA Draft to acquire a more desirable player.

Should Hayward opt-out, and should the Cs find a way to move up in the draft, perhaps nabbing Maccabi Tel Aviv star forward Deni Avdija would be a fine move to make.

The 19-year-old possesses a great combination of distribution skills, scoring touch, and sound defensive chops that have many NBA teams clamoring about the idea of landing the Israel-native.

Like with Hayward, Avdija would be a secondary option outside of Kemba Walker that can properly run the offense — proved to be somewhat of a point-forward during his career overseas — while also providing a nice scoring punch to the team.

His willingness to get his teammates involved on offense coupled with his high basketball IQ should make him an instant contributor within the team’s Brad Stevens-led scheme right out of the gates. With this, should they find a way to move up in the draft, if available, the team’s front office will be hard-pressed to pass on the overseas star who many are saying he could be the best player to come out of this draft.