The Boston Celtics find themselves drafting with some international flavor in a new mock put together by NBC Sports Boston’s A. Sherrod Blakely.
The Celtics will almost certainly have three first round picks at their disposal in the 2020 NBA Draft presuming the current standings or something like them is used to select draft order.
Current standings would have Boston selecting 17th overall (via the Memphis Grizzlies), 26th overall (their own pick) and selecting the final pick of the first round (no. 30 overall, owed the team by the Milwaukee Bucks).
With that in mind, Blakely assembled a solid trio of prospects for the Celtics to take with those draft assets, two of whom are international prospects previously reviewed by the Celtics Wire.
The third is a young domestic prospect worth a closer look, so with that said let’s dig in to the prospects floated by Blakeley in Boston’s range.
No. 30 overall – Leandro Bolmaro – FC Barcelona
Bolmaro has been linked to Boston before in other mock drafts, and could be on the Celtics radar due to his unusual size (6-foot-7) for a guard with his above-average passing.
And at just 19, he’s got plenty of room to grow — which is good, because his shot needs lots of work, and he’s a walking turnover at this stage of his development.
Blakely likes him at this pick as a draft-and-stash option, which would make sense given the issues needing work, his age, and lack of room to develop multiple prospects with so many rookies on the roster this season.
“His inconsistent shooting would likely improve as he sees more action in the Euroleague and Spanish ACB league,” suggests Blakely, “two of the more competitive leagues internationally. ”
No. 26 overall – Aleksej Pokuševski – Olympiacos B
Pokuševski has also been tied to the Celtics in previously reviewed mock drafts, his size at 7-foot-0 and guardlike mobility in a straight line an attractive frontcourt option.
He needs muscle, though — he currently weighs just 201 lbs — which is also tied to his low free throw attempt and offensive rebound rates and high turnover rate for an occasional ballhandler at best.
Also a very young player, Blakely sees another benefit with taking such a youthful prospect: “He’ll be just 18 years old on draft night, so there’s a decent chance that this will be a draft-and-stash pick.”
No. 17 overall – Jahmi’us Ramsey – Texas Tech
A new face in Celtics Wire mock draft reviews, Ramsey is a fascinating pick if perhaps better suited later in the draft. Another player who will barely be 19 at the presumptive day (June 25) of the 2020 NBA Draft, the Texas Tech shooting guard is a very good 3-point shot at 42.6 % on 5.2 attempts per game.
He’s also a respectable defender, but needs to improve that and his free throw shooting (64.1 %) — oddly low given how well the Arlington native shoots it from deep.
“He does a good job of utilizing screens to free himself up with and without the ball,” offers Blakely, suggesting that Ramsey’s, “6-10 wingspan provides promise[s] that at a minimum, he can be a solid NBA defender in Brad Stevens’ system.”
