The Boston Celtics have surprisingly remained in contention with Jayson Tatum out, but they would look significantly better had Brad Stevens nailed his draft picks. Rookie Hugo Gonzalez has played well to start his NBA career. Sadly, Boston missed in the previous two years by selecting Baylor Scheierman over Ajay Mitchell and Jordan Walsh over Toumani Camara. With those two wings, the Celtics would be an elite two-way force.
Walsh is having a breakout season, but Camara was second-team All-Defense last year. He is a plus shooter and the 3-and-D wing every NBA team wants. The 25-year-old is four years older than Walsh and already playing starter’s minutes. Putting Camara next to Tatum and Jaylen Brown would give the Celtics one of the best wing rotations in the league.
The Celtics have selected wings in the draft in three straight years. Gonzalez, Walsh, and Scheierman still have time to blossom into elite role players, but Boston missed on two players already making a massive impact on their team’s chances to win.
It looks like the Celtics missed on two straight draft picks
Boston knows exactly how important the draft can be. They took Tatum and Brown in back-to-back years, and it has set them up for over a decade of success. With Tatum out, Brown has taken a superstar leap, and the Celtics aren’t going anywhere.
In 2024, they took Baylor Scheierman with the final pick in the first round, and the 25-year-old wing is playing just 11.8 minutes per game this season. Eight picks later, Ajay Mitchell went to the Thunder, and he is already averaging 14.0 points, 3.6 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.5 steals in 25.8 minutes per game. Mitchell is locked in on a bargain contract and has already blossomed into a plus two-way option.
In 2023, Stevens swung multiple trades and ended up taking Walsh 38th overall. It wasn’t until 14 picks later that Camara went off the board. The Suns traded Camara before he played an NBA game. He wound up in Portland as part of the Damian Lillard deal. Camara was unquestionably the steal of this draft and would likely go in the lottery if it were redrafted today.
If the Celtics had Mitchell’s scoring and Camara’s defense, Boston would be even better on both ends of the floor. Joe Mazzulla has Boston sitting fourth in offensive rating, but 15th on defense. The coach is mixing and matching on a nightly basis because the Celtics lack trusted options. If Stevens nailed his draft picks, they wouldn’t have that issue.
Brad Stevens has not made many draft picks since taking over the Boston Celtics front office in 2021. He has taken a few shots on wings with upside, but they haven’t panned out yet. Fans would be salivating if they nailed these selections. Make no mistake. Stevens is one of the best executives in the game, but he has room to grow with his drafting.
Celtics fans know Stevens will keep Boston in contention for the foreseeable future, but draft picks are even more important with the new spending rules. This is something to watch moving forward. It could be the difference in hanging banner 19 or failing just short. Expect Stevens to quickly right his wrongs if history is any indication.