Conventional wisdom holds that the Boston Celtics are the most intriguing and interesting team in the 2016 NBA Draft. It’s pretty much a done deal that Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram will go #1 and #2, meaning the draft actually begins at #3 with Boston. On top of this reality, the Celtics also hold pick #16, just outside the lottery.
We’ve already conducted some Boston Celtics mocksourcing, and you can view those results here at this link. Will it be Kris Dunn or Dragan Bender? What Jamal Murray, is he in the mix?
ESPN NBA Draftnik Chad Ford answered media questions during today’s NBA Draft media call, and here we have the in-depth Boston Celtics talk transcribed below, via ESPNmediazone.com
Q. It’s been up and down and all over the board about what the Boston Celtics will do at 3, and then also at 16. Also, the European kind of craze that happened 10, 12 years ago and how that’s cooled off, how do you gauge the European market now in terms of NBA teams? Why did that change so dramatically, and is it improved over the past couple years or is it still kind of down?
FORD: Look, the Boston Celtics control the draft right now. I think we know that Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram are going 1 and 2. If they don’t go 1 and 2, it’ll be because Ingram went 1 and Simmons went 2. So the Celtics, we’ve got this really interesting challenging scenario for them. They would prefer to trade this pick. They would prefer to take it, package it with some of the assets they have and bring in a young veteran who is an All-Star caliber player to really build this team around. That’s been the plan all along. I think the Celtics have been fairly open about it.
The problem is in this draft, I’m not sure that the No. 3 pick, along with the assets that the Celtics have, are going to be enough to get that sort of player, and that’s frustrating for Celtics fans but it is what it is because you’re talking at the Jamal Murray level or the Kris Dunn level or the Marquese Chriss level, as a guy that doesn’t project as a sure-fire All-Star superstar down the road.
They don’t project that way. And so teams being willing to give up a superstar for that become a lot harder, and the Celtics have a lot of nice pieces, a lot of interesting pieces, but again, none of them are necessarily guys that other teams really covet.
In fact, I actually think that the thing that the Celtics have, their No. 1 asset, is actually the Brooklyn Nets pick next year in 2017. They have the right to swap that pick. It almost looks like there’s no scenario in which the Nets are going to be good next year, and the 2017 draft looks absolutely loaded with talent, and that might be their best chip.
If they stay at 3, I think it’s safe to say — this is frustrating, but I think it’s safe to say that they’ve narrowed it down to four guys: Jamal Murray, Kris Dunn, Jaylen Brown out of Cal, and Marquese Chriss out of Washington. I think if they go upside, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them go Jaylen Brown. He fits a need. He’s a wing who’s very athletic.
He did not shoot the ball well at Cal this year, but he shot the ball very well in workouts including the workout that he did with the Celtics, and if you’re saying at No. 3, look, let’s just swing for the guy who could be a superstar down the road and we’ll take a risk, then Brown seems like a pretty good calculated risk. If they want an immediate impact player, then I think that’s Kris Dunn or Jamal Murray. Dunn doesn’t necessarily fit a need.
The Celtics have been drafting point guards for a while, but I will say that Dunn is a better point guard prospect than anybody that currently sits on the Celtics’ roster right now, which is appealing, and there’s a defensive ability, especially that’s very, very attractive.
Murray brings shooting, which is something the Celtics could use a lot more of and they need, as well. His defensive abilities, though, are very questionable, and I think that’s the concern there.
So I think what the Celtics decide to do, I don’t think they’ve even decided yet, and I think part of it is trying to figure out trades, figuring out what other deals they might be able to do, what’s going to happen at 16 and 23, and all of that may affect who they end up taking at 3 because the difference between a Kris Dunn, a Jamal Murray, a Marquese Chriss, a Jaylen Brown, it’s so negligible.
I think they’re all similar types of prospects. It’s not you take the best player available. They’re in a tier of the best players available, and then you take the guy you think is going to fit the best need, and the Celtics may not know that until draft night, depending on the other sorts of deals that they do.
Here’s the link to our latest NBA mock draft update, and what we have the Boston Celtics doing at #3 and #16.
3. Boston (from BRK)-Kris Dunn, PG, Providence, 6-4, Jr.
The Celtics will continue to actively shop this pick in hopes of landing a proven player who can help them right now. If they are unable to swing a deal, Boston has a decision to make and plenty of names are in play; Kris Dunn, Buddy Hield, Dragan Bender, and more recently Jaylen Brown and Marquese Chriss. I’m plugging the Providence point guard in for now. Go here for more on Dunn.
16. Boston (from DAL)-Deyonta Davis, PF, Michigan State, 6-10, Fr.
Since I have the Celtics going with Dunn at 3, they need to find size here since they have a few potential free agent bigs this summer. Davis possesses the physical attributes of a prototypical four-man in the NBA but needs to become more well-rounded on the offensive end. Go here for more on Deyonta Davis.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication.
He also consistently appears on numerous talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram