The 2021 NBA Draft will take place on July 29. With the draft coming up, The Game Haus will be doing draft profiles for each NBA team. NBA squads will be analyzed, team needs will be addressed and potential targets will be discussed.
Today, the Boston Celtics 2021 NBA Draft Profile will be presented.
Summary
The Boston Celtics had a disappointing season finishing seventh in the Eastern Conference with a 36-36 record. They lost to the Brooklyn Nets in the first round in five games. After the season Danny Ainge resigned. Then, Brad Stevens moved from head coach to Danny Ainge’s former role, president of basketball operations. The team then went out and hired Ime Udoka as head coach. Udoka was an assistant with the Brooklyn Nets this past season. A lot has changed within the organization, but that is not all.
Brad Steven’s first move as president of basketball operations was to trade Kemba Walker, the 16th overall pick, and a 2025 second-round pick for Al Horford, Moses Brown and a 2023 second-round pick. This move was simply made to get off the giant contract of Walker and add some more big depth while doing so.
This team is built for the future and present with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown being All-Star level players at 23 and 24 years old, respectively. At some point though this team needs to see some results. They are now without a starting level point guard, so that needs to be a focus for the team this offseason.
2021 Draft Picks
First Round (no picks)
Second Round (one pick):
Pick No. 45
Team Needs
Starting point guard: As mentioned earlier, the Walker trade has left the team without a point guard. They could try to shift everyone down a position and run Marcus Smart at the one, Brown at the two and Jayson Tatum at the three, but that sounds like a disaster. That lineup would have no form of playmaking. The team needs someone that can set up his teammates, which is why Walker was not all that great of a fit either.
Wing Depth: With Evan Fournier entering free agency, the team only has a few unexperienced and young wings left on the bench. Romeo Langford and Aaron Nesmith will be the wings behind Tatum and Brown. They are both players that were drafted within the top fifteen picks in their drafts, but do not seem ready to contribute yet.
To figure out the big rotation: After the Walker trade, the Celtics now have four or five centers that are deserving of minutes. Al Horford, Robert Williams, Moses Brown, Tristan Thompson and Grant Williams who can play the small ball five will all be vying for minutes. It does not make sense for all of these players to be fighting for minutes.
Draft Target
Pick No. 45: Joel Ayayi, PG, Gonzaga University
Ayayi showed this past season that he is versatile enough to play both guard spots while playing alongside Jaylen Suggs. He is a very well rounded player that can do a little bit of everything for a team.
He is a solid playmaker, good shooter, and okay defender. Ayayi is not great at anything, but will be a solid role player with his versatility.
He will not answer the Celtics questions at point guard. Though he will add to the overall depth of the Celtics’ bench. He can fill in that role of wing depth standing at 6-foot-5 with great length. Being able to fill in on the wing and provide some more playmaking is exactly what the Celtics need.
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