In just six days, the NBA Draft will be upon us. The Boston Celtics will have the chance to add a pair of young prospects to the roster with picks 28 and 32. As the Cs head into the summer battling a financial bind, making the most of their two selections is important.
Should Boston's draft picks turn into rotation pieces, then they'd have those players on rookie-scale deals for the next four seasons. Those cheaper deals are as valuable as ever with the league's newest collective bargaining agreement punishing big spenders like the Celtics.
French guard Nolan Traore is an interesting player to watch heading into the draft. The 19-year-old entered the season as a possible top ten pick, but has since slid down big boards. He's currently ranked 25th on the latest No Ceilings board, putting him around Boston's range.
Traore spent this past season playing for Saint Quentin in the French League and the Basketball Champions League. He appeared in 44 total games for the club, averaging 12.3 points, 4.7 assists, and 1.9 rebounds in 22.7 minutes per outing. The six-foot-three guard sank 41% of his attempts from the field and 31.4% from beyond the arc.
His lack of efficiency and inconsistent jumper are the main reasons why draft experts have cooled off on him as a prospect.
Does Nolan Traore make sense for the Celtics?
At pick 28? Sort of.
Drafting a point guard wouldn't be the craziest move for Boston next week. There's been plenty of speculation that the team will move on from Jrue Holiday in an effort to cut costs, so the guard rotation could use some extra bodies behind Derrick White and Payton Pritchard.
With that being said, his skillset doesn't necessarily line up with the type of role he'd have in Joe Mazzulla's system.
Traore's strongest attribute is his playmaking ability, particularly as a primary ballhandler. In his short minutes in Europe last year, he still averaged 4.7 assists per game while maintaining a 2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
His passing is a joy to watch. He's not always hitting the guy who is open, sometimes it's the guy who is GOING to be open. Oftentimes, Traore manipulates the opposition and reads the defense's rotations to find his open teammate. His high-level understanding and feel for the game certainly raise his ceiling as an NBA point guard.
If Boston is willing to wait for the rest of his game to develop, this skill set alone could sell them on Traore as a development project.
The area where experts believe has the most room for improvement is Traore's jump shot. The Frenchman has never shown a consistent ability to knock down shots from the perimeter or from the mid-range. He's only made roughly 30% of his triples over the past two seasons, which doesn't bode well for a potential fit in Boston's three-point-centric offense.
Even when considering Traore's effectiveness as a pick-and-roll ballhandler, the shooting hurts his case. He isn't enough of a threat as a pull-up shooter to keep defenses honest. Opposing players will feel just fine going under screens and committing to keeping him away from the rim without having to be wary of an elbow pull-up.
With a shot that can look rigid at times and a 71.6% clip at the free-throw line, skepticism of Traore's potential as a shooter is justified.
His finishing ability is more of a mixed bag. On one hand, finishing 54% of his attempts at the rim isn't all that impressive. But when considering that he was an 18-year-old playing against grown men in one of Europe's top leagues, that number becomes a tad more respectable.
Traore's quickness makes him a threat to get to the rim at any point, especially in transition. He's able to change speeds and easily coast to the cup, where he can get creative with his finishes or find an open teammate.
At six-foot-three and 175 pounds, Traore isn't built to defend stronger players. He's got ample quickness to stick with smaller guys, though, and a six-foot-eight wingspan to help him disrupt an offensive player's rhythm. Despite that, he doesn't pile up the defensive stats, averaging just 0.7 steals per game.
"He lacks focus, intensity, awareness, strength. Basically anything that a coach would look for," Wrote Kevin O'Connor in his latest Yahoo Sports mock draft. "He has a lot of learning to do to take advantage of his athletic gifts."
When it's Boston's turn to pick next Wednesday, Traore could, again, be a smart selection depending on whether or not they're willing to wait for him to grow as a player.
For a more in-depth look at potential Celtics prospects, check out the "How 'Bout Them Celtics" draft preview, where Jack Simone and I run through plenty of names with No Ceilings' Tyler Rucker.