The Boston Celtics have built an elite roster, and last year, it paid off with an NBA Championship. While trades landed them the likes of Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, and Kristaps Porzingis, they got Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown through the draft. And they almost had Tyler Herro, too.
During a recent appearance on The OGs, a podcast hosted by former Miami Heat players Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller, Herro revealed that the Celtics almost picked him in the 2019 NBA Draft. However, Miami jumped in ahead of the Celtics and selected him instead, stealing him away from Boston.
And that’s a great look for the Celtics.
Celtics promising to draft Tyler Herro proves that they are elite in the NBA Draft
Well, at the very least, it proves that they know what they’re doing.
“When I seen the numbers on the teams of where they were drafting, and I seen Miami was 13, I was set on Miami months prior before the even draft,” Herrro said. “It was just like a dream to go to Miami. And on draft night, the Celtics had the 14th pick, and they had already guaranteed me the pick for the most part. And then, Miami took me right before at 13.”
Tyler Herro says the Boston Celtics guaranteed they would draft him, but the Miami Heat swooped in and took him instead 👀
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) January 8, 2025
(🎥 @theOGsShow / https://t.co/LGOr6FnjEm) pic.twitter.com/RRNe2ntFvd
Celtics fans may not be the biggest fans of Herro now, but there’s no denying that he’s turned into an incredible player. He’s having an All-Star-caliber season right now.
Through his first 35 games of the 2024-25 season, Herro is averaging 23.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 5.0 assists while shooting an impressive 46.9% from the floor and 40.1% from beyond the three-point line.
Obviously, taking Tatum and Brown with top-three picks was impressive, but that’s not the extent of Boston’s draft success. They also managed to find Payton Pritchard with the 26th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. That’s without even mentioning them finding Sam Hauser in undrafted free agency.
The fact that the Celtics not only had their eyes on Herro but gave him a guarantee had he fallen to pick No. 14 proves that they are elite when it comes to drafting players.
Even now, it looks like Jordan Walsh is on his way to turning into a quality NBA player. And while Aaron Nesmith didn’t stick around with the team, he is now a rotation piece on an Indiana Pacers squad that made the Eastern Conference finals last year.
Obviously, every team has their misses—Romeo Langford would like a word—but for the most part, the Celtics have been great at drafting solid players all over the board.
With how much CBA restrictions hurt spending nowadays, drafting well might be one of the most important skills in the NBA. And Boston zeroing in on Herro, even though they didn’t get him, is just another example proving how great they are at it.