2023 NBA Draft – Thurs, 8PM, June 22

[cl2117]

I’m looking to package whatever second we get along with Pritchard to move up for Derek Lively

Lively sucks... And this is coming from someone who is in ACC country who watched pretty much every Duke game. Had one great game vs UNC where he started to garner more hype but does nothing on offense, has basketball IQ, and is only a good weak side shot blocker in spurts.

Hard, hard pass on him. And he'll also be going in the 20s because a team will be dumb enough to take him based on "potential" and him being a footer who is athletic.

He might have been one dimensional, but he was one of the best defenders in all of college basketball this season. He was the top player in his high school class and he's 7 foot with a 7'7 wing span, I think you can take the air quotes off of "potential".

I think he's the ideal target for us. He's absolutely a project but a perfect compliment to Timelord in that he will get plenty of opportunity/minutes without being relied on when it counts while it simultaneously allows us to manage Rob's minutes to avoid injury and make sure he's healthy for the important games. It's a great opportunity for him to develop.

Even if offensively all he does is catch lobs, he'll be an asset. If he develops any more on that side of the ball, which isn't out of the question, he'd be a slam dunk pick. Perfect compliment to guys like Hauser/Grant and backup to Timelord.

If he slides out of the teens I think we could genuinely have a chance at moving up and getting him with our high second and Pritchard. Well worth it in my opinion.

[ThePigeon]

whether we get #33 or #35 I think that's a perfect place to take Trayce Jackson-Davis. He's being mocked late 1st/early 2nd. He's exactly what we badly need which is a potential future starter down the road but immediate upgrade backing up Horford and Williams. If he's gone I'd want Jalen Wilson or Jordan Walsh to replace Grant Williams.

Right now both Hauser and Muscala are playing better than Grant and I will give them his minutes. Except when guarding Giannis

In the last game vs the Sixers, Embiid jus shot over Grant (or dunked twice blowing by him). Muscala can guard him on the same level

[cl2117]

I've been really interested in looking more at the Euro stashes in this draft. With us being so deep might make sense to keep that pipeline flowing rather than bringing in another body destined for Maine.

Bilal Coulibaly would be a good lottery ticket. 18 years old, 6'6 with a 7'3 wingspan, definitely going to be a menace defensively. If he gets an offensive game to go with it he could be the next OG Anunoby (or at least Thybulle). He's been getting mocked in the early 2nd round so could be an option at #33 or #35. Give him a couple years seasoning overseas and you could be getting lotto pick talent in the 30's. Doubt he makes it past the Spurs though.

James Nnaji could be another one. 18 years old, 6'10 with 7'7 wingspan. Played with Barcelona last year so already competing at a high level. Really raw, so will take a couple years to develop, but has great physical tools. Traditional center, so not gonna be a star in the modern NBA, but could end up as a useful bench piece. Seen him mocked as high as late 1st rounder, but also slip as far as the mid-second round.

I've also been wondering what the likelihood would be for us to be able to snag another 2nd round pick using cash and the rights to Yam. Feels like an either or proposition with him and JD and I'd say Davison has the edge simply by already being with the team. Would make sense to try and swap him out for a different Euro stash that has a higher likelihood of making the team eventually.

The Lakers managed to get #35 from Orlando last year for cash and a future 2nd (2028), so I think it's possible especially if it's a smaller market team that'd be happy to squeeze some money out of us.

There's a couple Serbs who look like they could be decent mid-late 2nd round fliers, both playing in ABA next year:

Nikola Durišić- 6'8 combo forward. Only 19
Tristan Vukcevic- 6'10 stretch four. 20 year old played for Real Madrid B team last year

Don't know much else about them but seem like interesting profiles. There seem to be a host of others, but not seeing many that are mocked as 2nd round talents yet.

Highly unlikely that you hit on these guys, but I think it makes sense to keep investing in the Euro stashes because once you eventually do get a winner it can be a huge advantage, especially for a team that will need cheap guys who can contribute if they end up with 2 supermax players.

Seems like Begarin coming over as a depth wing is a real possibility next year and like I said above Yam is probably squeezed out by JD, so it'd make sense to refresh the Euro pond if possible.

[Hal14]

So there's been talk about packaging up Pritchard + our 33rd or 35th pick to move up into the 1st round.

Well, I figure these would be the only teams who may have interest in Pritchard: Magic, Pistons, Spurs, Jazz, Hornets, Warriors.

I say spurs, hornets, warriors and pistons because this article said they were interested in him at the deadline:
https://www.si.com/nba/celtics/top-stories/these-four-teams-reportedly-have-interest-in-trading-for-celtics-guard-payton-pritchard

Then, I add the Jazz because they're really thin in the back court, they're rebuilding so they would probably be more likely to give playing time to Pritchard than a good team - and Ainge drafted Pritchard. And I added the Magic, since they're also a rebuilding team, they need shooting and they could use a little more back court depth - especially with RJ Hampton gone now.

But let's be honest - Pritchard doesn't have much trade value. Including him in a deal would only allow us to move up like 3 4 spots. Maybe 5 if we're lucky.

So we're looking at moving up into the 28-32 range with a deal.

Question is, are any of the teams who may be interested in Pritchard drafting in that range?

Yes. Jazz at 28 and Pistons at 31.

It's something to keep an eye on. Moving a few spots up could help us snag a player who we wouldn't have been able to draft otherwise.

I still think that more than likely, we don't trade up and we just try and grab the BPA at 33 or 35.

[165bows]

I’m looking to package whatever second we get along with Pritchard to move up for Derek Lively

Lively sucks... And this is coming from someone who is in ACC country who watched pretty much every Duke game. Had one great game vs UNC where he started to garner more hype but does nothing on offense, has basketball IQ, and is only a good weak side shot blocker in spurts.

Hard, hard pass on him. And he'll also be going in the 20s because a team will be dumb enough to take him based on "potential" and him being a footer who is athletic.

He might have been one dimensional, but he was one of the best defenders in all of college basketball this season. He was the top player in his high school class and he's 7 foot with a 7'7 wing span, I think you can take the air quotes off of "potential".

I think he's the ideal target for us. He's absolutely a project but a perfect compliment to Timelord in that he will get plenty of opportunity/minutes without being relied on when it counts while it simultaneously allows us to manage Rob's minutes to avoid injury and make sure he's healthy for the important games. It's a great opportunity for him to develop.

Even if offensively all he does is catch lobs, he'll be an asset. If he develops any more on that side of the ball, which isn't out of the question, he'd be a slam dunk pick. Perfect compliment to guys like Hauser/Grant and backup to Timelord.

If he slides out of the teens I think we could genuinely have a chance at moving up and getting him with our high second and Pritchard. Well worth it in my opinion.

Yeah all about that Lively move. Also agree with the above about potentially moving Yam and the pick for a higher pick. Might be tough to get high enough (could even see him going to Toronto), but I could see a few teams liking a little ball-hawk shooter like Yam.

Maybe GS would prefer two 2nd rounders to save $ but 20 seems like a reach.

[Hal14]

Filipowski having some fun- messing with people who are waiting to see if he is coming back to Duke or declaring for the draft.

Read on Twitter

Some of the comments under his tweet are funny haha.

[cl2117]

So there's been talk about packaging up Pritchard + our 33rd or 35th pick to move up into the 1st round.

Well, I figure these would be the only teams who may have interest in Pritchard: Magic, Pistons, Spurs, Jazz, Hornets, Warriors.

I say spurs, hornets, warriors and pistons because this article said they were interested in him at the deadline:
https://www.si.com/nba/celtics/top-stories/these-four-teams-reportedly-have-interest-in-trading-for-celtics-guard-payton-pritchard

Then, I add the Jazz because they're really thin in the back court, they're rebuilding so they would probably be more likely to give playing time to Pritchard than a good team - and Ainge drafted Pritchard. And I added the Magic, since they're also a rebuilding team, they need shooting and they could use a little more back court depth - especially with RJ Hampton gone now.

But let's be honest - Pritchard doesn't have much trade value. Including him in a deal would only allow us to move up like 3 4 spots. Maybe 5 if we're lucky.

So we're looking at moving up into the 28-32 range with a deal.

Question is, are any of the teams who may be interested in Pritchard drafting in that range?

Yes. Jazz at 28 and Pistons at 31.

It's something to keep an eye on. Moving a few spots up could help us snag a player who we wouldn't have been able to draft otherwise.

I think you might be surprised about how much value Pritchard could have to specific teams. He's not a pure expiring as he's got RFA status after next year, so there's a decent amount of team control and he comes with a premium skillset despite his shortcomings (pun intended).

Just looking at the last two drafts there were guys that I think are of a similar talent who got moved for picks in the low 20's:

- Last year Philly traded #23 for DeAnthony Melton straight up.
- 2021 the Wizards traded #22 for #31 and Aaron Holiday from the Pacers.

It obviously all comes down to right place/right time because for the vast majority of teams I don't think he's worth a first or even moving back 10+ spots but I think there is a precedent for a guy of his calibre either on his own or paired with a high 2nd landing a pick in the low 20's.

In addition to the teams you listed I think you could probably add Miami and Brooklyn as a darkhorse too. Miami because they have a strong history of hitting later in drafts anyway but also because they've got only 9 guys on the books for next year and are already in the tax. Brooklyn makes less sense but maybe if we eat Patty Mills to save them some money they go for it with 2 picks in the 20's and Seth Curry potentially not coming back.

And not necessarily a team that'd want Pritchard, but a team I expect to move a pick in the 20's, the Pacers. They've got #8, #26 and #29, plus an early 2nd (potentially even #32 if that's where the Rockets pick lands funnily enough) and #55. I could see a 3 way deal where team X comes in for Pritchard while C's take #26 or #29 and Pacers get value from team X.

So starting from very late teens/early 20's with Miami/Brooklyn/Golden State through the late 20's with Pacers/Hornets/Jazz and early 30's with Pistons/Spurs/Pacers/Hornets, I think there is actually a ton of potential trade up opportunities with Pritchard. Could absolutely strike out on them all, but I think it's promising that there seem to be options.

[Larry_Russell]

I would Trade pritchard and the pick to move into the first round in a heartbeat, especially if that opens up the ability to nab a proper PF.
Leonard Miller would be nice.

Or for an established PF who can come in and start (obviously include Grant in that deal as Gallo will replace him)

[zoyathedestroya]

Read on Twitter

So apparently we won't know until May 16 (lottery).

[djFan71]

Read on Twitter

So apparently we won't know until May 16 (lottery).

Did he happen to cover what happens to the MIA pick if we get the HOU one?

If we DONT get HOU, then we keep POR and MIA goes to OKC for Muscala.
If we DO get HOU, we keep that, POR goes to OKC for Muscala and.... MIA?????

[Duke4life831]

I’m looking to package whatever second we get along with Pritchard to move up for Derek Lively

Lively sucks... And this is coming from someone who is in ACC country who watched pretty much every Duke game. Had one great game vs UNC where he started to garner more hype but does nothing on offense, has basketball IQ, and is only a good weak side shot blocker in spurts.

Hard, hard pass on him. And he'll also be going in the 20s because a team will be dumb enough to take him based on "potential" and him being a footer who is athletic.

Ill say this, I dont think Lively is worth trading up to get. But I also dont agree with the majority of this either. Agreed he does nothing on offense, but highly disagree that he is only a good weak side shot blocker. His mobility for his size and length is just flat out elite. He handles defending out in space extremely well for a legit 7 footer. Defensively he is a damn good prospect.

Again I wouldnt trade up for him because of all teams that should know this, its Boston. You dont need to trade up to get elite defensive only big men. You found it late in the 1st with Timelord. You can get these guys late 1st or early 2nd in most drafts. For example would I rather use assets and try and trade up to get Lively somewhere in the teens, or sit back and take another freak athletic big man in Bona in the 2nd round. Ya just give me Bona.

[Celts17Pride]

As of April 10th, I think Noah Clowney is my guy with an early 30's pick. Looks like a big guy who could develop nicely and fit in with the Celtics. Might be gone earlier.

[reload141]

I’m looking to package whatever second we get along with Pritchard to move up for Derek Lively

Lively sucks... And this is coming from someone who is in ACC country who watched pretty much every Duke game. Had one great game vs UNC where he started to garner more hype but does nothing on offense, has basketball IQ, and is only a good weak side shot blocker in spurts.

Hard, hard pass on him. And he'll also be going in the 20s because a team will be dumb enough to take him based on "potential" and him being a footer who is athletic.

Ill say this, I dont think Lively is worth trading up to get. But I also dont agree with the majority of this either. Agreed he does nothing on offense, but highly disagree that he is only a good weak side shot blocker. His mobility for his size and length is just flat out elite. He handles defending out in space extremely well for a legit 7 footer. Defensively he is a damn good prospect.

Again I wouldnt trade up for him because of all teams that should know this, its Boston. You dont need to trade up to get elite defensive only big men. You found it late in the 1st with Timelord. You can get these guys late 1st or early 2nd in most drafts. For example would I rather use assets and try and trade up to get Lively somewhere in the teens, or sit back and take another freak athletic big man in Bona in the 2nd round. Ya just give me Bona.

I got a Bona just reading your post…

[Homerclease]

I’m looking to package whatever second we get along with Pritchard to move up for Derek Lively

Lively sucks... And this is coming from someone who is in ACC country who watched pretty much every Duke game. Had one great game vs UNC where he started to garner more hype but does nothing on offense, has basketball IQ, and is only a good weak side shot blocker in spurts.

Hard, hard pass on him. And he'll also be going in the 20s because a team will be dumb enough to take him based on "potential" and him being a footer who is athletic.

Ill say this, I dont think Lively is worth trading up to get. But I also dont agree with the majority of this either. Agreed he does nothing on offense, but highly disagree that he is only a good weak side shot blocker. His mobility for his size and length is just flat out elite. He handles defending out in space extremely well for a legit 7 footer. Defensively he is a damn good prospect.

Again I wouldnt trade up for him because of all teams that should know this, its Boston. You dont need to trade up to get elite defensive only big men. You found it late in the 1st with Timelord. You can get these guys late 1st or early 2nd in most drafts. For example would I rather use assets and try and trade up to get Lively somewhere in the teens, or sit back and take another freak athletic big man in Bona in the 2nd round. Ya just give me Bona.

Williams was a rare case though. He was looked at as a top 10 pick that slid due to medicals and off court issues. Both of which happened here. I’ll take a guy in the same mold, the Celtics are in a place where they can afford to overpay to pick up an ideal target. I wanted Kessler last year. Lively is my guy this year

[Duke4life831]

Lively sucks... And this is coming from someone who is in ACC country who watched pretty much every Duke game. Had one great game vs UNC where he started to garner more hype but does nothing on offense, has basketball IQ, and is only a good weak side shot blocker in spurts.

Hard, hard pass on him. And he'll also be going in the 20s because a team will be dumb enough to take him based on "potential" and him being a footer who is athletic.

Ill say this, I dont think Lively is worth trading up to get. But I also dont agree with the majority of this either. Agreed he does nothing on offense, but highly disagree that he is only a good weak side shot blocker. His mobility for his size and length is just flat out elite. He handles defending out in space extremely well for a legit 7 footer. Defensively he is a damn good prospect.

Again I wouldnt trade up for him because of all teams that should know this, its Boston. You dont need to trade up to get elite defensive only big men. You found it late in the 1st with Timelord. You can get these guys late 1st or early 2nd in most drafts. For example would I rather use assets and try and trade up to get Lively somewhere in the teens, or sit back and take another freak athletic big man in Bona in the 2nd round. Ya just give me Bona.

Williams was a rare case though. He was looked at as a top 10 pick that slid due to medicals and off court issues. Both of which happened here. I’ll take a guy in the same mold, the Celtics are in a place where they can afford to overpay to pick up an ideal target. I wanted Kessler last year. Lively is my guy this year

I dont think its too rare. Same year as Williams, Mitchell Robinson went in the 2nd round. Nic Claxton went in the 2nd round. Gobert was late 1st, Jarret Allen was in the 20s, Clint Capella was in the mid 20s. Gafford (who is an elite shot blocker) was in the 2nd round.

And ya its not an understatement to say Lively is a zero on offense, he truly is. So ya looking at all defense and no offense big men, you can usually get some quality ones late late 1st or early 2nd.

Also to be clear, it all depends on what the trade up is. Are we talking to jump up into the teens to get him? Or are we talking jumping up a couple spots to get him. If its just a couple spots and doesnt cost much, sure. But if we are talking the price to jump up from where you guys will be to say late lotto or the teens, no I dont think its worth the jump. And again to be clear, Im a huge Lively fan.

[Smart2Nesmith43]

I dont think its too rare. Same year as Williams, Mitchell Robinson went in the 2nd round. Nic Claxton went in the 2nd round. Gobert was late 1st, Jarret Allen was in the 20s, Clint Capella was in the mid 20s. Gafford (who is an elite shot blocker) was in the 2nd round.

And ya its not an understatement to say Lively is a zero on offense, he truly is. So ya looking at all defense and no offense big men, you can usually get some quality ones late late 1st or early 2nd.

Also to be clear, it all depends on what the trade up is. Are we talking to jump up into the teens to get him? Or are we talking jumping up a couple spots to get him. If its just a couple spots and doesnt cost much, sure. But if we are talking the price to jump up from where you guys will be to say late lotto or the teens, no I dont think its worth the jump. And again to be clear, Im a huge Lively fan.

I agree. Most of those defense first centers are going to go lower than they are mocked currently. It happens every time. If I had to guess I would say it's a combination of a perceived lower ceiling and not exactly having a skill set that's going to blow people away in workouts. Kamagate last year was seen as a late first rounder at this point in the process and he ended up going in the middle of the second round for instance.

Read on Twitter

So apparently we won't know until May 16 (lottery).

Did he happen to cover what happens to the MIA pick if we get the HOU one?

If we DONT get HOU, then we keep POR and MIA goes to OKC for Muscala.
If we DO get HOU, we keep that, POR goes to OKC for Muscala and.... MIA?????

The Celtics will have a single pick in the upcoming draft. Either Portland's at 35 or Houston's at 33 depending on the lottery result. We aren't getting the Miami pick regardless.

[djFan71]

The Celtics will have a single pick in the upcoming draft. Either Portland's at 35 or Houston's at 33 depending on the lottery result. We aren't getting the Miami pick regardless.

Where does the MIA pick go if we get the HOU pick? That's what I haven't been able to figure out.

[165bows]

Ill say this, I dont think Lively is worth trading up to get. But I also dont agree with the majority of this either. Agreed he does nothing on offense, but highly disagree that he is only a good weak side shot blocker. His mobility for his size and length is just flat out elite. He handles defending out in space extremely well for a legit 7 footer. Defensively he is a damn good prospect.

Again I wouldnt trade up for him because of all teams that should know this, its Boston. You dont need to trade up to get elite defensive only big men. You found it late in the 1st with Timelord. You can get these guys late 1st or early 2nd in most drafts. For example would I rather use assets and try and trade up to get Lively somewhere in the teens, or sit back and take another freak athletic big man in Bona in the 2nd round. Ya just give me Bona.

Williams was a rare case though. He was looked at as a top 10 pick that slid due to medicals and off court issues. Both of which happened here. I’ll take a guy in the same mold, the Celtics are in a place where they can afford to overpay to pick up an ideal target. I wanted Kessler last year. Lively is my guy this year

I dont think its too rare. Same year as Williams, Mitchell Robinson went in the 2nd round. Nic Claxton went in the 2nd round. Gobert was late 1st, Jarret Allen was in the 20s, Clint Capella was in the mid 20s. Gafford (who is an elite shot blocker) was in the 2nd round.

And ya its not an understatement to say Lively is a zero on offense, he truly is. So ya looking at all defense and no offense big men, you can usually get some quality ones late late 1st or early 2nd.

Also to be clear, it all depends on what the trade up is. Are we talking to jump up into the teens to get him? Or are we talking jumping up a couple spots to get him. If its just a couple spots and doesnt cost much, sure. But if we are talking the price to jump up from where you guys will be to say late lotto or the teens, no I dont think its worth the jump. And again to be clear, Im a huge Lively fan.

I think most posters here would agree the team is likely if anything in the "move a high second and a deep depth guy or two" to move up. Stevens has moved most of his firsts for vets so he could consolidate a future first to move up but it would be a real different move than he has made so far. So you'll find most here are trying to find the diamond in the rough that could turn into something more down the road and no worries about moving an extra nickel or two but would be a real big surprise if they did anything else.

More likely they trade out/back because of the number of guys on the roster but that's not as fun to speculate on lol.

[165bows]

I dont think its too rare. Same year as Williams, Mitchell Robinson went in the 2nd round. Nic Claxton went in the 2nd round. Gobert was late 1st, Jarret Allen was in the 20s, Clint Capella was in the mid 20s. Gafford (who is an elite shot blocker) was in the 2nd round.

And ya its not an understatement to say Lively is a zero on offense, he truly is. So ya looking at all defense and no offense big men, you can usually get some quality ones late late 1st or early 2nd.

Also to be clear, it all depends on what the trade up is. Are we talking to jump up into the teens to get him? Or are we talking jumping up a couple spots to get him. If its just a couple spots and doesnt cost much, sure. But if we are talking the price to jump up from where you guys will be to say late lotto or the teens, no I dont think its worth the jump. And again to be clear, Im a huge Lively fan.

I agree. Most of those defense first centers are going to go lower than they are mocked currently. It happens every time. If I had to guess I would say it's a combination of a perceived lower ceiling and not exactly having a skill set that's going to blow people away in workouts. Kamagate last year was seen as a late first rounder at this point in the process and he ended up going in the middle of the second round for instance.

Read on Twitter

So apparently we won't know until May 16 (lottery).

Did he happen to cover what happens to the MIA pick if we get the HOU one?

If we DONT get HOU, then we keep POR and MIA goes to OKC for Muscala.
If we DO get HOU, we keep that, POR goes to OKC for Muscala and.... MIA?????

The Celtics will have a single pick in the upcoming draft. Either Portland's at 35 or Houston's at 33 depending on the lottery result. We aren't getting the Miami pick regardless.

Similar to Rob I think they want their defense first big to have real passing ability.

Then they've got to be either finish at the rim or shoot from deep, one of those two plus versatile defense and passing is what they've done.

[Smart2Nesmith43]

The Celtics will have a single pick in the upcoming draft. Either Portland's at 35 or Houston's at 33 depending on the lottery result. We aren't getting the Miami pick regardless.

Where does the MIA pick go if we get the HOU pick? That's what I haven't been able to figure out.

The Thunder gets the lower Celtics pick this year due to the Muscala trade.
If the Houston pick doesn't convey, then the Celtics get the Miami pick and reroute it to OKC because it's worse than the Blazers'.
If the Houston pick conveys, then the Celtics don't get the Miami pick and the Blazers' pick go to OKC.