Danny Ainge has proven once again in 2021 that the NBA Draft is where he feels the Boston Celtics have the best chance of landing a cost-controlled difference-maker. That is not to call him frugal by any means.
Remember, Ainge gave Jaylen Brown $115 million before his year four breakout in 2019-20. Before the former California Golden Bear was a 20-point-per-game scorer on one of the NBA’s top five teams on both ends of the basketball, that contract was seen as an overpay.
Let’s not forget Jayson Tatum’s $195 million extension signed this past November in the middle of a global pandemic either. That investment was the most substantial deal ever doled out in the history of the Boston Celtics franchise.
That said, both were Ainge selections in the 2016 and 2017 drafts, respectively. Clearly, Ainge values the draft over any in-season trade movement. That strategy could pay off with a strong 2021 draft class.
This year’s pool of prospective pros still has a large number of representatives in the NCAA tournament, and the Cs figure to be in play for a good chunk of them…especially considering Ainge’s propensity to wheel and deal on draft night.
With that in mind, the Houdini believes the Celtics should monitor the performance of these five prospects:
Boston Celtics Sweet 16 prospect to monitor #1: Franz Wagner
Let’s make it a Beantown family affair. The Cs just nabbed Moritz Wagner in the Daniel Theis trade, and his brother Franz is one of the stars of the Michigan Wolverines.
There could be a potential need to fill the wing with Evan Fournier’s unrestricted free agent status and Wagner’s 37% shooting from the 3-point line (with a scorching 45% 3-point conversion rate at home) should allow him to slide right into the role Gordon Hayward vacated last November and Fournier may vacate this summer.