When the Boston Celtics’ second-round pick came around in the 2025 NBA Draft, they traded back. They shipped off the No. 32 pick in exchange for the No. 46 pick, the No. 57 pick, and two future second-rounders. They took Amari Williams and Max Shulga with the two seconds they gained in this year’s draft, but they passed up on Ryan Kalkbrenner, who has looked like a stud for the Charlotte Hornets.
Kalkbrenner, who played his college ball at Creighton, would have been an ideal fit with the current construction of Boston’s roster. They lost Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis, and Luke Kornet this summer, so adding a young big man could have been perfect.
Instead, he’s thriving in Charlotte.
Why didn’t the Celtics take Ryan Kalkbrenner?
There’s far more that went into Boston’s decision to pass on Kalkbrenner than them simply not believing in him. In fact, it seems likely that the reason they passed on Kalkbrenner had nothing to do with Kalkbrenner himself.
Boston went into this summer with a primary goal in mind: Save money. They ditched a majority of their big contracts in order to duck under the second apron, and Kalkbrenner could have hurt their chances of doing that.
Kalkbrenner didn’t sign a two-way deal with the Hornets, he inked a four-year, nearly $10 million rookie contract. Boston signed their two second-round rookies to two-way contracts.
That decision to save money—even if it was only a small amount—probably had an impact on the Celtics’ willingness to draft a guy early in the second round.
That said, Kalkbrenner’s performance so far this season in Charlotte has to have Boston feeling at least a little bit of regret (though there’s no way of knowing whether or not he would have fit in with Boston’s system).
So far this year, Kalkbrenner has started all 11 games for the Hornets, playing 26.5 minutes per contest. He has averaged 9.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.0 steals, and 2.4 blocks while shooting a ridiculous 83.3% from the floor, which is the best field goal percentage in the NBA.
Neemias Queta has been solid for the Celtics this year, but the rest of their big-man rotation has struggled at times. In fact, with Queta on the court, the Celtics have a 16.4 net rating, but without him, they have a -6.4 net rating.
Having a 23-year-old rookie capable of playing minutes right away would have done a lot for Boston, not to mention the impact it could have had on the future of the team.
Perhaps Williams will turn into a steal, and the Celtics will get some value out of the seconds they got, but for right now, Kalkbrenner looks great.