The first round of the NBA Draft is in the books with the Celtics adding Houston big man, Chris Cenac Jr., with the 27th overall pick. But with the two-day draft model, Boston will have a full day to think about its second round selection, 40th overall, where there should still be plenty of talent left on the board.
Cenac Jr. is a high-upside gamble with plenty of talent, but just as many question marks. He’s a raw project who will take time, so the Celtics shouldn’t exactly assume they’ve solved their frontcourt issues or anything like that. Besides, with a pick this late, if the Celtics do keep it, they should be looking to add the best available player as opposed to drafting for need.
If they can snag a rotation player at 40, that would be a huge boon for a team looking to contend, either as a role player on a value contract or a useful trade chip down the road. Here are three players who slipped past round one and would be great targets for Boston on Wednesday night.
Henri Veesaar could be stretch-big of the future
He may not make it to the 40th pick, but Henri Veesaar, out of North Carolina, would be a great get for the Cs. He’s nearly 7-feet and a little slender, but he has an impressive offensive game with nice touch around the rim, and he’s a threat to let it fly from just about anywhere on the court.
There could be some serious struggles on the defensive end, and he needs to get stronger and quicker, but there’s enough there with his offensive skill set and size to be worth a chance in the second round, especially considering the need for shooting bigs in the modern NBA.
Meleek Thomas could be the bench guard Celtics need
While everyone focuses on the team’s need for a big man, they really need another guard to complement Payton Pritchard and Derrick White. They never replaced the Anfernee Simons role from last year, and Meleek Thomas, from Arkansas, is the perfect man for the job. He’s a combo guard with decent size, with elite touch, great shooting, and the ability to just go get a bucket.
He’s still just 19 and pretty raw. He doesn’t generate a ton of rim pressure, and he needs to add strength to compete on defense, but this would be an outstanding add for Boston in round two, a player who may be able to get points off the bench as soon as this year.
Baba Miller offers Celtics little bit of everything
One more name to watch would be the versatile, 6’10” Baba Miller, who played at Cincinnati. Miller is an incredible athlete for his size who can playmake and drive on the perimeter while finishing with authority inside. He can possibly guard 1-5 on defense and could maybe even anchor a defense someday.
He needs to get stronger and more explosive, and the jump shot is still a bit of a question mark, but this is the kind of jumbo, Swiss Army Knife player that could be extremely useful and rare in the NBA.
Ultimately, all three of these players may be off the board before the 40th pick, but they'd each be great additions that fill a need. Even if gone, there are other good options in guys like Richie Saunders, Isaiah Evans, Ryan Conwell, Trevon Brazile, and others. This is a deep draft, and there's still talent on the board. Time for Brad Stevens and company to get back to work.
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