While the ink on the contracts signed by prospects from the 2020 NBA draft may not yet be dry, for some at least it is never too early to start thinking about the next draft.
Among that set can be counted For The Win’s Bryan Kalbrosky, who put together a comprehensive mock for the 2021 draft with two selections in mind for the Boston Celtics included. While you might not like where the Celtics are slotted to draft (20th overall in the first round and 50th overall in the second), don’t blame Kalbrosky; that estimation was gleaned by ESPN’s Kevin Pelton based off of estimated wins.
For this 2021 NBA mock draft, I wrote about all 60 players. Also included: AAU stats and analysis from NBA scouts.
Learn about the best prospects in college basketball, in the G League and those who are playing internationally! See who your team landed:https://t.co/7DRTyHPzQ5
— Bryan Kalbrosky (@BryanKalbrosky) December 9, 2020
For the first pick, Kalbrosky sees Boston going for 6-foot-4 LSU guard Cam Thomas who averaged an absurd 31.5 points per game as a senior in high school and was the AAU scoring champion in 2019.
“Thomas scored at least 25 points in both of his first two collegiate appearances, shooting both well and often from 3-point range,” notes the FTW analyst, who could see Thomas go as high as the lottery if he expands his game further.
The other selection projected for the Celtics is 6-foot-3 VCU guard Nahshon Hyland. The sophomore hit 43.4% of his treys as a freshman, and during his first game of the current season, went 5-of-10 from deep against Utah State.
“He averaged 1.30 points per possession on jumpers in a set offense (98th percentile), including 1.41 PPP (97th percentile) coming off the catch and 1.07 PPP (93rd percentile) off the dribble,” notes Kalbrosky.
While both of these prospects may well end up going to any team in the draft when all is said and done, larger guards who can shoot aren’t going out of style in the NBA any time soon, and with a lack of wing depth represent exactly what Boston ought to be after in the near-term future.
Aaron Nesmith credits Jerry Stackhouse’s coaching learning Celtics’ defense https://t.co/Gx1tbo9v4z
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) December 9, 2020
And while it might feel too early to be diving too deeply into draft content before the next NBA season even begins, with the NCAA landscape plagued with false starts and pauses due to the ongoing pandemic, it might be wise to get up to speed on these prospects sooner than later anyway.
