Royce White has been one of several names going to the Boston Celtics in several mock drafts.
The Boston Celtics enter the NBA Draft on Thursday with several options in their attempt to either rebuild or reload the team.
Currently, the Celtics have four players (Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Avery Bradley, and JaJuan Johnson) under contract for the 2012-’13 season. Danny Ainge commented yesterday that Kevin Garnett has a decision on whether he wants to play for the Celtics or not on Sunday when Garnett becomes a free agent for the first time in his career. Many people expect Garnett to either come back to play for the Celtics or retire based on his loyalty to the organization for the past five years of his career. If Garnett doesn’t return, people think he will retire. Ray Allen has the choice on whether he wants to resign with the Celtics or another franchise. Brian Windhorst of ESPN reported earlier this week that Allen is interested in joining the Miami Heat. Brandon Bass opted out of his player option for $4 million and became a free agent.
1) The Celtics can move up in the draft through a trade. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports said the Celtics are aggressively trying to get into the high lottery or a top-10 pick. This means the Celtics will have to let go of a significant player (Pierce or Rondo) or multiple selections (possibly both of their first-round choices). There has been rumors about the Celtics wanting to get Doc Rivers’ son, Austin. Austin Rivers is expected to be taken in the late lottery.
2) Another move the Celtics could make is to keep their own draft picks at 21 and 22. There have been mock drafts with the Celtics taking forward Andrew Nicholson of St. Bonaventure, Syracuse’s center, Fab Melo, Iowa State’s Royce White, and Jared Sullinger of Ohio State. Nicholson is a stretch “4″ who has long-distance range. The six-foot-10-inch, 234-pounder can rebound and he has potential to be an impact player in the league. The 7-footer, Melo, is a raw prospect with shot-blocking ability. Melo just came from Brazil four years ago and he couldn’t compete in the NCAA Tournament for the Orange because he was academically ineligible. He is a major project and would be a big risk for any team who decides to take a flier on him. White is an all-purpose forward who led the Cyclones in scoring, rebounding, assists, blocks, and steals last season. He can dribble, pass, and rebound. The problem with White is he suffers from an anxiety disorder where he has a fear of flying. Also, White had trouble defending the pick-and-roll, but he can improve over time. Sullinger is a dominant post player who was initially projected to be a top-10 selection, but doctors have raised red flags over back issues. Sullinger missed two games last season with back pain.
3) The Celtics could trade down or find a partner to swap picks like they did in the 2011 Draft when they sent the 25th choice Mar’shon Brooks to the New Jersey Nets for Johnson (No. 27). This has not been reported, but as the draft moves on, the Celtics could look towards this avenue if they find value for a player they like later in the first round.
4) Lastly, the Celtics could always ship their choices for an established veteran. The last time Celtics did this was in 2007when they shipped their 5th overall pick (Jeff Green) along with Delonte West to the then-Seattle SuperSonics for Allen and the 34th choice (Glen Davis). In 2006, Ainge sent the 7th pick, Raef LaFrentz, and Dan Dickau to the Portland Trail Blazers for Sebastian Telfair and Theo Ratliff
The Celtics need players with size and expect them to draft a power forward or center tonight. Ainge has garnered a great amount of success with his picks in the past and he has another opportunity tonight. The question is whether the Celtics will attempt another shot at the championship or enter a transition phrase from the “Big Three” era.