The Boston Celtics have traded a bunch of draft picks in recent years, but they still own their first-round pick and one second-round selection in the 2024 NBA Draft next month.
The Celtics began their Eastern Conference Finals series versus the Indiana Pacers with a thrilling 133-128 overtime win Tuesday night in Game 1 at TD Garden.
The pursuit of Banner 18 is very much alive and the focus of most fans' attention. But the upcoming draft is still an important event and worth monitoring as it approaches.
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ESPN draft experts Jeremy Woo and Jonathan Givony published their latest 2024 NBA mock draft Wednesday morning, and one pick in the second round was pretty interesting.
They projected LeBron James' son, Bronny, to go to the Celtics in the second round at pick No. 54 overall. The Celtics acquired this pick in a three-team deal with the Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs last summer, which was headlined by Grant Williams going to Dallas.
Opinions on James' future as an NBA player are all over the place. Some people think he could be a decent role player on the right team, while others don't see him making much of an impact at the next level.
He's a little undersized at 6-foot-2, but he's a good playmaker and defends pretty well. He needs to become a more consistent 3-point shooter, but the potential is there.
The Celtics wouldn't be a bad organization for James to go. He wouldn't be expected to make an impact at the NBA level right away and could receive plenty of coaching in the G-League to help him develop. James recently listed C's guards Derrick White and Jrue Holiday (along with Sacramento Kings guard Davion Mitchell) as players he wants to emulate at the NBA level, so maybe they could play a role in his development, as well.
"Just guys that excel in their role and, you know, get good money and get good playing time from it," James said of White, Holiday and Mitchell at the NBA Scouting Combine. "They are locked into that role and know what they're supposed to do."
ESPN's latest mock draft also projected the Celtics taking Kansas small forward Kevin McCullar with the 30th overall pick at the end of the first round.