Boston Celtics: Weighing the rookie vs. veteran route for several bench spots

It’s finally draft week, with this Thursday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn being the date and venue for the 2021 NBA Draft. The Boston Celtics no longer own a first-round pick via the Kemba Walker-Al Horford swap, but newly minted President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens has proven to be creative in his short time as a man in control.

We don’t know what he’d be willing to part with to get a deal done, but based on the free agents he has spoken to (at least in rumor), we can decipher the type of player he’d be targeting in the draft.

Obviously, the main goal for everything he does this offseason is to build a winner around Jayson Tatum and (with less certainty) Jaylen Brown. He wouldn’t have traded away a draft pick to do so.

The C’s #45 selection could be used on a prospect or be traded for all we know. Stevens could prove to want to explore the veteran free-agent market instead of the draft after being disconnected from the college game for so long. He may well decide to punt on the 2021 NBA Draft in favor of more win-now talent.

Nothing is set in stone, though. After an unpredictable season, we are approaching an unpredictable NBA Draft. Numerous stars (Damien Lillard and Bradley Beal to name a few) are imminently approaching trade requests, and subsequently, trades. Who knows how many moving parts will be set in motion.

What we can do is weigh the free agent options rumored to be talking to Boston against the potential draft options this Thursday night.

Let’s dive in…