Boston Celtics: 3 first-round talents Cs could select in 2021 NBA Draft

Over the past several years, Draft Day has always been an exciting time for fans of the Boston Celtics, as they’ve constantly found their favorite franchise in the running to come away from the illustrious event as absolute winners.

This year, however, a different feeling seems to be looming over the heads of the C’s faithful followers.

Since 2012, the shamrocks have found themselves in possession of two or more first-round picks on six separate occasions. This season, thanks to the deal that sent Kemba Walker to the Oklahoma City Thunder, they find themselves with zero.

Even with this unfortunate truth, however, Brad Stevens and co. still have a chance — albeit, a slim one — to come away with a player who can prove to be a difference-maker for the organization at some point in their career, as they currently hold the rights to the 45th pick on the night.

Now, by no means should anyone expect to see the media explode in relation to whomever the Boston Celtics opt to take with their second-round selection, but, as players such as Nikola Jokic, Isaiah Thomas, and Malcolm Brogdon will prove, there’s always a chance the front office will be able to snag a diamond in the rough type of talent at such a lowly slot on the board.

In fact, looking at this year’s prospects, there could wind up being quite a number of players in possession of first-round skills that tumble to round No. 2 and, of these players, there are 3, in specific, we at the Houdini believe the Celtics could wind up snagging if they play their cards right or, simply, just get lucky:

First-round talent the Boston Celtics could draft No. 1) Brandon Boston Jr.

Once viewed as a top-10 prospect in this year’s class, Brandon Boston Jr.’s shaky one-and-done season definitely did a number on his stock, but it certainly should not deter the Boston Celtics from taking a shot at the 19-year-old’s potential.

Coming into the collegiate game, Boston found himself ranked fourth on the RSCI Top 100, just behind the likes of Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green, and Evan Mobley while also being slotted right in front of Scottie Barnes, all four of whom are projected to be top-five picks in Friday’s draft.

Unfortunately, all of this hype never wound up translating into consistent on-court success for the wing during his 2020-21 campaign with the Wildcats, as he went on to average only 11.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.3 steals on a lowly 35.5 percent shooting from the floor and 30 percent shooting from deep.

Despite his turbulent campaign, however, Boston did still manage to showcase glimpses of the top-tier recruit that once had scouts penciling him in as a sure-fire lottery pick, what with his solid shooting form (despite his lowly long-range percentage he converted on nearly 80 percent of his attempts from the charity stripe), surprising strength, and his impressive ability to glide to the rim.

With his potential as a scorer coupled with his ideal build for a modern-day wing (6-7, 185-pounds), should he fall to the 45th pick, the Boston Celtics may not find a better overall prospect to choose in this draft.