The Celtics do not have a first-round pick for what will be the third straight draft as Boston president Brad Stevens prioritized winning in the present. That’s only natural considering the Celtics have been the best team in basketball this season — and they have a great chance of making it back to the NBA Finals.
But the C’s have three second-round draft picks for the upcoming 2023 NBA Draft. Boston parted with its 2023 first-round pick against Indiana in the Malcolm Brogdon trade, which seems like a lot considering Brogdon’s production. If the Celtics finish with the best record in basketball, they will only part ways with the 30th overall pick.
Of course, the regular season is still ongoing, which means the draft order is still in motion at certain games based on team record. The draw is still months away as low-level teams try to get the French phenom Victor Wembanyama. The Celtics won’t be near those draws as they aim for another deep playoff run this summer.
But there are still some intriguing names thrown around during the drafting process. Boston drafted Alabama’s only prospect JD Davison with the 53rd pick last season, his only selection in the 2022 NBA draft.
Here’s a look at fictional drafts from the past few weeks that project well-known college names to be drafted by the Celtics. (Any discrepancy in draft order is based on when the mock draft took place and the teams position in the standings.)
34th overall pick: Ricky Conseil IV, 21, 6ft 6in
2022-23 stats: 17.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists in 34.9 minutes per game for Arkansas.
41st pick overall: Jordan Walsh, 18, 6-foot-7
2022-23 stats: 7.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.0 assists in 23.6 minutes per game for Arkansas.
58th overall pick: Zach Edey, 20, 7-foot-4
2022-23 stats: 22.1 points, 13.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists in 31.4 minutes per game for Purdue.
Jonathan Wasserman from Bleacher Report
33rd overall pick: Leonard Miller, 19, 6-foot-10
2022-23 stats: 15.1 points, 8.4 rebounds, 0.8 assists in 24.3 minutes per game for the G-League Ignite.
48th overall pick: Azuolas Tubelis, 20, 6-foot-11
2022-23 stats: 20.0 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists in 30.5 minutes per game for Arizona.
60th pick overall: Trayce Jackson-Davis, 22, 6-foot-9
2022-23 stats: 19.6 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists in 32.1 minutes per game for Indiana.
44th overall pick: Jaylen Clark, 21, 6-foot-5
2022-23 stats: 13.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists in 30.4 minutes per game for UCLA.
52nd overall pick: James Nnaji, 18, 6ft 10in
Statistics 2022-23: 5.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 0.4 assists in 12.8 minutes per game for FC Barcelona in Spain.
58th overall pick: Jalen Pickett, 23, 6-foot-4
2022-23 stats: 17.6 points, 8.0 rebounds, 7.0 assists in 35.5 minutes per game for Penn State.
43rd pick overall: Tristan Vukcevic, 19, 6-foot-10
2022-23 stats: 9.1 rebounds, 4.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists in 16.8 minutes per game for KK Partizan in Serbia.
49th pick overall: Reece Beekman, 21, 6-foot-3
2022-23 stats: 9.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists in 30.2 minutes per game for Virginia.
60th pick overall: Drew Timme, 22, 6-foot-10
2022-23 stats: 21.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists in 32.7 minutes per game for Gonzaga.
42nd overall pick: Marcus Sasser, 22, 6-foot-2
2022-23 stats: 16.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists in 30.7 minutes per game for Houston.
51st pick overall: Harrison Ingram, 20, 6-foot-7
2022-23 stats: 9.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists in 26.6 minutes per game for Stanford.
58th overall pick: Matthew Cleveland, 20, 6-foot-7
2022-23 stats: 14.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists in 34.3 minutes per game for Florida State.