Russell Isabella – USA TODAY Sports
Leading up to the 2015 NBA Draft, there were a lot of trade talks swirling around the Boston Celtics. At the end of the day, the Celtics elected to stand pat, and it may have really hurt them.
Fans were expected the Celtics to get a blue chip star to help get them further into the playoffs. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. The Celtics were unable to move up, and it didn’t help their case that they chose Terry Rozier with the 16th overall pick. Rozier was regarded by many as a late-first to early second-round pick. Taking him at 16 was a major reach.
Rozier is a slasher and a solid defender, but he is a point guard. The last thing the team needed was a point guard for their roster. They already have Marcus Smart and Isaiah Thomas, so why would they draft Rozier when they had a bigger need in the frontcourt, especially with Bobby Portis still on the board? It was just a frustrating selection, and it was easily the worst pick in the first round.
The team did make up for it by getting a great value in R.J. Hunter with the next pick, but by that point backcourt depth wasn’t a major need. Sure, the team needed a shooter, but now they have six guards competing for roster spots. Four of them are first or second-year players in Rozier, Hunter, Smart and James Young, so it will be tough to get everyone playing time. In fact, Young may become expendable if he loses a roster spot to Hunter.
The second round was where the team finally added an extra body up front in Jordan Mickey. He could end up challenging for a spot in the rotation, and he will certainly be given a chance to do that if Brandon Bass leaves. However, the team is also looking to add a big man in free agency, so if Kevin Love or DeAndre Jordan comes to town, Mickey will struggle to get minutes.
The team finished off their draft by taking Marcus Thornton, who will not make the team despite being a great scorer at William & Mary. They do not have the roster space for him, so it will end up being a wasted pick.
Overall, the Celtics had one of the weaker drafts despite having four picks. They didn’t address their needs properly, and while they did get a couple of quality players, they ultimately were unable to get a star player to propel them to the next level. As a result, the Celtics may be stuck in a perpetual state of mediocrity, and the team really needs to do better with their wealth of draft picks over the next few years.
Jacob Camenker is a Buffalo Bills Beat Writer for www.RantSports.com. You can like him on Facebook here, follow him on Twitter @jacobyhorse, or add him to your network on Google.
