While the NCAA’s annual March Madness tournament is going on as scheduled in 2021, the NBA Draft will be pushed back to July 29th after typically taking place in late June following the conclusion of the NBA Finals. The Boston Celtics and would be preparing for the postseason if it were any other year, but at this point in the season, they are fighting to avoid the play-in tournament between the #7-#10 seeds in the east.
Needless to say, this is not your typical year in Beantown.
The Pandemic kept fans out of the TD Garden until recently. Numerous games saw several Cs get sidelined due to a viral disease. Oh, and the Cs have lost more than they have won.
Again, far from a typical year.
Through the disastrous year this has been, Danny Ainge held firm in not dealing any 2021 draft picks away. In the Evan Fournier swap, 2025 and 2027 second-rounders were sent to the Orlando Magic.
Which is a good thing. While HH cannot speak to what the 2025 and 2027 draft classes will look like quite yet–with those ballers still learning the pitfalls of elementary school as we speak–we know that the class of 2021 NBA Draft class will be nothing short of loaded.
Beyond the flashy names like Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley, and Davion Mitchell, there are plenty of options at the end of the draft that could provide value that far exceeds their draft position.
Here are 5 late-round targets the Boston Celtics could pursue in the upcoming NBA Draft:
Boston Celtics second-round draft target #1: Houston SG Quentin Grimes
Starting off the list is Final Four participant Quentin Grimes out of the University of Houston, who will be battling the Baylor Bears in the first matchup of the night.
Grimes is a well-put-together athlete–with range and savvy decision-making with the ball in hands–that has been instrumental in UH dominating the American Conference all season before ripping through the Midwest Region of the tournament.
His catch-and-shoot ability should translate to the NBA, and it’d also translate to Brad Stevens’ offense.