The Celtics drive for eighteen began last Thursday when the NBA draft happened. This was going to be the Celtics' year to make a big move and land a superstar player.
There had been rumors involving the Celtics trading some of their draft picks to acquire a talented veteran player. Some of the players that they were "supposedly" in talks with were with the Philadelphia 76ers, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Chicago Bulls.
The big hype had been around the Celtics possibly landing the Bulls' star guard Jimmy Butler, but it didn't work out. The Celtics held on to all their first round draft picks, and I'm not sure if any of their draft picks will turn into stars either.
With the third pick in the NBA Draft, the Boston Celtics selected Jaylen Brown, a small forward from the University of California, Berkley. Brown had spent one year at Cal before declaring to go into the NBA draft. Coming into Cal, Brown was probably expected to be the savior since he was the highest rated recruit that they had to play at California in years. He's rated fourth according to ESPN.com player rankings.
Now I do love the pick, but I also don't love it. Brown is a very talented player, don't get me wrong, he is a great winger player who can score, but he scores by attacking the basket and not taking jumpers. Brown's jump shot is actually one of the areas of his game on which he needs to improve. This is how I would describe Jaylen Brown: a more athletic Jae Crowder but can't shoot as well.
The NBA draft expert Chad Ford's scouting report on Jaylen Brown says the positive parts of Brown's game are: he is long an elite athlete with a NBA body, has a power game, impressive slasher who can finish at the rim, lives at the free throw line, excellent motor, and is a very good defender. Ford thinks Brown could be a very talented player in the NBA. However, he says Brown's weaknesses are his jump shot and his handles.
If you want to watch some of Brown's highlights at Cal, check them out right here.
With the sixteenth pick in the NBA Draft, the Boston Celtics selected a 6'8" power forward from France in Guerschon Yabusele. I don't even think I have words to describe this pick. Yabusele was not projected to be a first-round pick, and the Celtics decided to take him at sixteen when there were still other talented, big men available at the same position. Two examples are Skal Labissiere out of Kentucky, and Deyonta Davis from Michigan State. I would have had either of those guys over this guy. He even came out and said after the draft that he was stunned when the Celtics picked him at sixteen. When the player himself is shocked he was picked so early, you can only imagine how Celtics Nation reacted. Let me just tell you, they weren't very happy. I personally don't believe Yabusele will amount to anything but a role player if he even makes it over to the NBA. He could stay overseas and just play basketball there for years before he ever decides to come play in the NBA.
Here is Chad Ford's take on him. Ford says his strengths are: a strong physical player, good athlete, uses his body to create space and contact in the paint, soft hands and good feet for a big man, good shooter and can shoot from the three-pointer well and is a solid rebounder and shot blocker. But the one negative on Yabusele is he is undersized for his position. The one thing that actually shocked me was Fran Fraschilla's calling Yabusele the French Larry Johnson. I sure hope he is the next Larry Johnson, but I highly doubt it.
If you want to see some film of Yabsuele, check out this highlight tape of him.
With the 23rd pick in the NBA draft, the Boston Celtics selected Ante Zizic from Croatia. Yeah I know, another guy who is not well-known. Trust me, though, if you look him up, he does have great skills and has a good chance at being a successful player in the NBA. The center position is also a spot where the Celtics really don’t have a true leader outside of Tyler Zeller. The Celtics have moved Olynyk and Sullinger out of their natural positions at the Four to make them more deep at the center position. I think getting a natural center will help. Zizic stands at 6’11 and weighs in at 235 lbs; he is a big boy and isn’t afraid to hang around in the paint and use his size and weight down low.
Chad Ford’s scouting report on him says he is an aggressive man, excellent rebounder, tough, and he has a solid low-post game. He does suggest two weakness in his game. He needs to add more of a perimeter game and needs to work on his basketball IQ. Just watch these highlights of him, and I am sure you will be impressed.
I didn't love the Celtics first round picks, and the rest of their draft was just okay in my mind. That is something no Celtics fan wants; they want a great draft, not an okay draft, because it's all about the drive for eighteen.
