The Celtics didn’t go into the NBA Draft with the most appealing picks at 27th and 40th, but they appear to have extracted great value despite their position. ESPN’s Ben Golliver gave the Celtics an A- grade for their draft, behind only four teams (3 of which had multiple first-round picks), while Sam Vecenie and John Hollinger of The Athletic gave the Cs a B+ for Chris Cenac Jr. at 27 and a solid B for taking Dillon Mitchell at 40.
The teams that received higher marks had much better draft capital, and the consensus from the experts seems to be that Boston did very well given what they had to work with.
Cenac is hailed as a raw project, but with an incredible combination of size and tools. There is faith that the Celtics can develop him and help him use those tools to become a high-impact player down the road.
Mitchell is in the opposite camp as a 22-year-old four-year college player. He can’t and may never be able to shoot, but the experts rave about his defensive abilities and the way he moves the ball and stays active on offense, suggesting that in the right situation, he may be able to contribute at the NBA level right away.
Celtics likely didn’t move the needle for 2026-27 season
While the Celtics seem to have done very well with a late first and a second-round pick, fans shouldn’t expect these guys to come in and change the math for next season. No matter what moves they make with Jaylen Brown and other players, the team is squarely in win-now mode around Jayson Tatum.
They also have great depth, largely built up by drafting players around the same range as they just added Cenac Jr. and Mitchell. But those players have taken several years to develop and have taken time to even come close to cracking the rotation.
Guys like Jordan Walsh, Baylor Scheierman, Sam Hauser, and Neemias Queta have taken several years to develop and are all now major factors in the team’s rotation. That should be the goal and expectation for the Celtics’ new crop of rookies. These guys might make some appearances in Boston, and by the end of the year, maybe one or both could even crack the rotation.
But realistically, we shouldn’t expect them to make a big impact this season. More likely, they’ll be a big part of the Maine Celtics, and hopefully they can develop to the point that they are ready to help the big club while they’re still competing for championships around Tatum.
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