2026 NBA Draft (Part I)

[chrisab123]

With Tatum’s injury and losing multiple assets we have no chance of wining a title next year. So, does it make sense to finish 7th or in the play-in and maybe make the playoffs?

I wouldn’t mind JB being really careful with his knee and Dwhite sitting out games due to his “nagging injuries”…

Maybe we have some lottery luck and get into top 3. We will see how the top prospects develop but if we get a franchise player in the draft we are instant contender in 2026/27 with JT, JB, Dwhite, top 3 pick…

It’s not about what makes sense it’s about what’s logical. Logic would tell us a team with Brown and White leading it while Tatum is rehabbing and potentially back in March is probably not bad enough to tank unless everyone is on board and Joe does extreme load management.

Dump White or Brown for youth and picks then the argument changes.

The Celtics Power Forward and Center Rotation is BUILT FOR THE TANK.

Let Me Repeat that: The Celtics Power Forward and Center Rotation is Built for the TANK.

The 2025-2026 Celtics are not built to win close games.

What you want to happen and what probably will happen are two completely different things. No one is saying they’ll do anything of consequence but regardless of how bad their front court is the East is trash. You’re going to have to out tank teams like Washington and you can’t do that unless you put JB or White on ice and if they aren’t on board with that you’re going to have another issue.

Not to mention that as fans we see bringing a rookie into this locker room as extending the window, but if Tatum is healthy the window is already wide open. So even if they get a pick say 7th-14th the goal should be trading that pick for an established player who can complement the current core. Fans kind of relate more towards ownership and spreadsheets these days but if they want to keep these guys happy they can’t half ass this in 26-27. Plus that 2027 draft is looking really bad. Don’t do anything that’s going to cause Brown Tatum or a lesser extent White to ask out in the future.

[Smart2Nesmith43]

165bows asked about De Larrea last season before he took his name out of the draft. From the way he was completely swallowed up when France turned up the intensity in the second half of their game yesterday, I just don't see how he survives athletically in the NBA (usual caveats about sample sizes may apply).

[Hal14]

165bows asked about De Larrea last season before he took his name out of the draft. From the way he was completely swallowed up when France turned up the intensity in the second half of their game yesterday, I just don't see how he survives athletically in the NBA (usual caveats about sample sizes may apply).

I just watched the highlights but both de Larrea and Saint Supery looked pretty overmatched on defense in that game.

[Smart2Nesmith43]

165bows asked about De Larrea last season before he took his name out of the draft. From the way he was completely swallowed up when France turned up the intensity in the second half of their game yesterday, I just don't see how he survives athletically in the NBA (usual caveats about sample sizes may apply).

I just watched the highlights but both de Larrea and Saint Supery looked pretty overmatched on defense in that game.

Saint Supery left the game with an ankle injury. Not sure if he was carrying it going into the game and aggravated it or if he picked up during the game but I would give him the benefit of the doubt.

[redslastlaugh]

HoopIntellect, who did great work making NBA draft content and scouting capsules as a content creator on youtube/twitter, just announced he was hired to be a scout for an NBA team. Good news for him, hope the Celtics hired him, but this also means no more draft prospect videos on his channel

Watch on YouTube

[Hal14]

Man..RJ Luis' teammate Zuby Ejiofor is a beast.

He's the big guy on St John's:

Watch on YouTube

;t=611s

And this article contains some clips where we see some really impressive defense by him.

https://floorandceiling.substack.com/p/nba-draft-rj-luis-zuby-ejiofor-karter-knox-billy-richmond

Could be a solid big man target in the 2nd round - possibly late in the 1st.

[Hal14]

This guy is growing on me. Potential big man target in the mid to late 1st round:

https://sheedinatl.substack.com/p/jaden-toombs-deserves-more-of-your

[2Mas]

It’s not about what makes sense it’s about what’s logical. Logic would tell us a team with Brown and White leading it while Tatum is rehabbing and potentially back in March is probably not bad enough to tank unless everyone is on board and Joe does extreme load management.

Dump White or Brown for youth and picks then the argument changes.

The Celtics Power Forward and Center Rotation is BUILT FOR THE TANK.

Let Me Repeat that: The Celtics Power Forward and Center Rotation is Built for the TANK.

The 2025-2026 Celtics are not built to win close games.

What you want to happen and what probably will happen are two completely different things. No one is saying they’ll do anything of consequence but regardless of how bad their front court is the East is trash. You’re going to have to out tank teams like Washington and you can’t do that unless you put JB or White on ice and if they aren’t on board with that you’re going to have another issue.

Not to mention that as fans we see bringing a rookie into this locker room as extending the window, but if Tatum is healthy the window is already wide open. So even if they get a pick say 7th-14th the goal should be trading that pick for an established player who can complement the current core. Fans kind of relate more towards ownership and spreadsheets these days but if they want to keep these guys happy they can’t half ass this in 26-27. Plus that 2027 draft is looking really bad. Don’t do anything that’s going to cause Brown Tatum or a lesser extent White to ask out in the future.

1- the east isnt trash. There's 5-6 teams that are clearly better than us. 3ish teams that are clearly worse. a whole buncha teams in the middle. Us tank fans believe we're not pushing to win much this yr. We CAN win 45+ games yeah if it goes perfect, but we think it's more of a reset yr than push for the 7th seed. & JT's not coming back.

2- No one is saying we're gonna out tank Washington. But getting the 8th pick is a no brainer in the asset limited Celts chest.

3- Love your 3rd point about the pick. Lets move it. Esp if we stay in the tax & we don't dump Simons. the 8th pick & a Simons S&T would get us into a real difference maker range.

[phincsfan]

I'm gonna keep an eye on Darius Acuff Jr out of Arkansas.

Cal always has a good eye for PG's.

[Hal14]

I'm gonna keep an eye on Darius Acuff Jr out of Arkansas.

Cal always has a good eye for PG's.

Usually but some exceptions are Tyty Washington, Tyler Ulis, Boogie Fland, DJ Wagner, etc.

Acuff is very smaller and has some questions about his shooting.

Think between Pritchard and White, we're pretty well set at PG..plus Tatum and Brown sometimes bring the ball up and initiate actions as well.

I think we're gonna end up with a pick somewhere in the top 20. I'd like to see us draft a big with that pick.

The bigs currently in the top 20 on my big board:

Cameron Boozer (1)
Jayden Quaintance (7)
Chris Cenac Jr (9)
Johann Grünloh (19)
Alex Condon (20)

[cl2117]

HoopIntellect, who did great work making NBA draft content and scouting capsules as a content creator on youtube/twitter, just announced he was hired to be a scout for an NBA team. Good news for him, hope the Celtics hired him, but this also means no more draft prospect videos on his channel

Watch on YouTube

C's did actually hire this guy apparently. Glad it worked out for him, hopefully he's a great addition to the scouting team.

[Smart2Nesmith43]

He had Gonzalez #33, Williams #46, Luis #50 and Shulga #51 on his final big board. Scheierman at #30 last year. Walsh at #38 in 2023. JD Davison at #54 in 2022. So his ranking certainly doesn't seem to differ too much from the current Celtics brain trust's. Nothing againt him and I actually like his videos but I'm not sure what's the point of bringing in someone that already aligns with the front office consensus. Would have hoped for someone with a different viewpoint to bring to the table.

A click glance at his big boards doesn't seem like he is outperforming the actual draft order. Now maybe it's just the misses sticking out more. It's cool that he gets to realize his professionnal dream and he certainly put in the work to deserve that opportunity but I don't know, I kinda wish for his sake and the Celtics that it would have been with another team.

[phincsfan]

NBA is the toughest sport to scout for and execute a plan for the draft.

I give this young guy a ton of credit for getting this job. Once you're in that club, you have a lifetime pass. Kudos to him.

IMO, this move was not a Stevens move. Is it a huge move? No, but it's one that maybe someone in the owners circle wanted to make. This move to me has new ownership written all over it.

I can see how much power Wyc and DA had the last 20 years. When Austin left, that told me that Wyc kept the plan of selling extremely close to his vest because if DA had any inkling prior to the 24/25 season, DA would have brought Austin over then.

The DA tree is now only Stevens, Joe, Dobbins, Zarren, Gotham, JT, JB and PP as far as the big names. There are a few behind the scenes staff, but I think those are the last of the big names.

Watch on YouTube

I haven't watched it yet so there's no bias as to why I linked it.

[redslastlaugh]

Who is saying Celts hired him? I'll be happy if they did, but I haven't seena source on that.

C's did actually hire this guy apparently. Glad it worked out for him, hopefully he's a great addition to the scouting team.

[redslastlaugh]

He had Gonzalez #33, Williams #46, Luis #50 and Shulga #51 on his final big board. Scheierman at #30 last year. Walsh at #38 in 2023. JD Davison at #54 in 2022. So his ranking certainly doesn't seem to differ too much from the current Celtics brain trust's. Nothing againt him and I actually like his videos but I'm not sure what's the point of bringing in someone that already aligns with the front office consensus. Would have hoped for someone with a different viewpoint to bring to the table.

Reasonable points, I just looked at his 2025 NBA big board video.

Watch on YouTube

go to 32:45 - 33:00 for a complete top 60

His rankings are generally pretty inline with consensus so it's not like he's has a bunch of outlier takes as a draft prospect analyst, but I like the addition, because I just want to get some new people and new thinking into the pipeline. And this individual seems to be laser focused on the draft in particular, and our front office needs draft specific scouts and analysts.

And, if you look at his big board, it's true he had Hugo at #33 but he had five guys ranked above Hugo who were still on the board at #28:
Rasheer Fleming
Noah Penda
Adou Thiero
Ryan Kalkbrenner
Liam McNeeley
Maxime Raynaud

So if he was picking for us, going by his public rankings, he would have gone in a different direction.

[Curmudgeon]

It is wildly unlikely that the Celtics will be picking in the lottery. The pundits are full of baloney. The Celtics will win at least 45 games and that's without putting my green glasses on. They have too many good players.

[bigfoot_cryptozoology]

My Celtics Draft Day Trade

White & 2026 Lottery Pick, Queta and one of Baylor/Ugo for Markkanen.

Might have included Hauser instead of Baylor/Ugo, because Lauri is making 46.1 in 2026.

I would still do the trade because a Markkanen -Tatum - Brown frontcourt would be fantastic... Just what this Celtics team needs to truly contend once more.