Boston Celtics draft: 4 prospects Cs fans should hope fall from lottery

Boston Celtics draft target #1: Sharife Cooper

Sharife Cooper has been listed as both a lottery talent and someone who has played his way out of such a distinction due to the last few games of his short-lived college career.

Cooper hasn’t officially declared for the NBA Draft, and the transfer of teammate Justin Powell may indicate that there wasn’t enough playing time to go around in a potential 2021-22 lineup that could include both Cooper and Trey Alexander.

Then again, Cooper sitting out the last four games of the season could have been his way of avoiding any further slips down NBA whiteboards. During his freshman season at Auburn, Cooper started off hot with big games against Alabama (26/9/4) and Georgia (28/12/5) to establish himself as an elite SEC guard (he was named All-SEC third-team).

If the Boston Celtics were able to land Cooper, they could potentially have a super-sub to pair with Payton Pritchard in the backcourt or worthy competition to Pritchard to eventually succeed Kemba Walker as the starting floor general.

Boston Celtics draft target #2: James Bouknight

The Boston Celtics already employ one former UCONN guard in Kemba Walker, so having another lottery talent potentially fall to them would be a dream for Boston Celtics fans.

James Bouknight is a legitimate scoring machine, most recently tearing up the Georgetown Hoyas for 28 points on 8/12 shooting and 5/9 shooting from beyond the arc. He went for 40 points against a ranked Creighton earlier this season, making five 3-pointers in the process.

A reaggravation of his elbow injury is the best bet for Bouknight to end up in Boston via a draft-night slide.