Boston Celtics: Isaac Okoro, Killian Hayes taken in B/R’s 2020 mock redraft
The two players former Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge drafted in the 2020 NBA draft (Aaron Nesmith, Payton Pritchard) remain on the team after a busy trade deadline.
Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens did ship out 2019 lottery pick Romeo Langford in the trade that brought aboard Derrick White but didn’t find a deal for either of the two players brought on in the middle of a once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic.
In Bleacher Report writer Dan Favale’s recent mock 2020 NBA redraft, Pritchard is picked ahead of his actual draft slot while Nesmith isn’t even included in the first round of Favale’s list.
More importantly, neither returns in the redraft.
Instead, the Cs land Isaac Okoro and Killian Hayes who, frankly, both have a higher ceiling than the Cs perimeter-oriented pair:
"14. Boston Celtics: Isaac OkoroActual Pick: Aaron NesmithOkoro needs to drop in more of his threes to be any sort of offensive force, and there will be those who bemoan how many bigger wings he shouldn’t be guarding. But his defense, overall, is legit—and scales to the point of attack. Among everyone who has logged at least 1,000 minutes this season, Lu Dort and Matisse Thybulle are the only players who have faced tougher assignments in the aggregate, according to BBall Index’s matchup difficulty.26. Boston Celtics: Killian HayesActual Pick: Payton PritchardSome may not have Killian Hayes, the No. 7 pick in 2020, on the re-draft board at all. I can’t go that far. There is a real composure to his game when he has room to maneuver around screens—kick-outs and entry passes that imply a higher-level feel. Hayes has already forged some impromptu chemistry with Marvin Bagley III, and if he can ever develop a reliable standstill three or in-between touch, his first year-plus in the league will quickly become a distant memory."
The Boston Celtics get better in Bleacher Report’s 2020 NBA Re-Draft
Let’s start with the addition of Isaac Okoro, who is as pliable as a wing gets in this modern age of NBA basketball.
While his 3-point shot is a work in progress, few wings have the defensive ceiling as the former Auburn Tiger. Okoro is playing an ancillary role on the current #4 seed in the Eastern Conference, but the Cavs are demonstrably better with him in the lineup as opposed to a Dean Wade or Lamar Stevens.
On the Cs, Okoro could form one of the most tantalizing backcourt duos with Marcus Smart, though the pair would certainly leave plenty to be desired spacing the floor for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
As for Killian Hayes, perhaps a change of scenery is what the 2020 Detroit Pistons lottery pick needs. That franchise hasn’t been a beacon of consistency since the days of Ben Wallace, Rip Hamilton, Tyshaun Prince, and Chauncey Billups.
As an international product, he certainly would have been welcomed in a Cs locker-room that has skewed more international in recent years.
This would have been a great draft, though the actual 2020 haul still has a chance to rewrite their NBA stories just yet.