Boston Celtics: Dario Saric Would Come To NBA Immediately If Drafted By Celtics

With the sixth and 17th picks in the 2014 NBA Draft, general manager Danny Ainge and the Boston Celtics will be leaving no stone unturned as they scout a variety of prospects leading up the June 26 draft. One player who Ainge has already spent considerable time watching is Croation star Dario Saric. After a dominant season in Europe, Saric has declared for the 2014 draft but his latest comments may be of the most interest to Celtics’ fans. According to David Pick of Eurobasket.com, Saric has said that he will leave Europe to join the NBA immediately if he is drafted by either the Boston Celtics or Los Angeles Lakers.

While Saric has been on the NBA radar for a number of years, there still remains a huge cloud of uncertainty around this season’s Adriatic League Most Valuable Player. Questions over his game translating, attitude and whether or not he would join an NBA team after being drafted are all genuine concerns, but it appears that the Celtics would have to worry about one less thing if these reports are in fact true. It may also cause less desirable teams to overlook Saric if they believe he would stay and play in Europe for years rather then leaving for the U.S to play in the NBA.

Saric was a dominant force in Europe this season and appears ready to make the jump to the NBA. He led Cibona to the Adriatic League Championship, defeating Cedevita 72-59 and taking home the Finals MVP. Saric totalled 23 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks as he played all 40 minutes and was a league above everyone else on the floor. The 20-year-old Saric capped off a dominant season where he won the MVP, Finals MVP and the Most Improved Player Award in just his second year. He averaged 16.7 points, 9.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.3 steals per game and saved his best performances for the biggest games of the season.

Saric’s final draft position is hard to determine. With his impressive resume at such a young age and a versatile skill set, he could start being a very real possibility as early as the Celtics’ sixth pick. Most mock drafts predict Saric falling in the No. 8 to 12 region, in the middle of the Celtics’ two first round picks, but Ainge has already discussed the possibility of moving up or down on draft night.

Saric has that alpha mentality and a rare competitive fire to be great and those are attributes that statistics cannot measure. He wants to be the best and at such a young age dominated a professional competition and led his underdog team to the ultimate prize. He is an extremely skilled player, able to score inside and out, rebounds the ball well and has exceptional vision and passing for a man his size. He has the height and skills to play at either forward position in the NBA and that combination of shooting and passing should allow him to contribute immediately on the offensive end.

There are legitimate concerns over how Saric will translate to the size and speed of NBA athletes. Most importantly, there are concerns over where he can defend. He has the skills to play small forward but doesn’t appear to have the speed to defend many of the game’s elite players who play the position. While he has the height, he does not have the strength or wingspan to be a plus defender at power forward either. He will have to work hard on that end of the floor as we know defense is how young players usually earn their minutes. He will never be one of the fastest or most athletic players in the league, regardless of which position he plays, but his competitiveness, highly skilled game and effort should be able to make up for most of his shortcomings.

Saric may well be the best player available on draft night when the Celtics are set to make their pick at six, however it is far more likely that he falls a little later in the lottery. If concerns over how he would translate to the NBA saw Saric’s stock fall down to 17, you can almost be assured that Ainge would snap up the talented Croatian in an instant. However, if he falls that far it may complicate things as there is a buy-out on his contract that Saric will have to contribute over $1 million for. In all likelyhood, if the Celtics want Dario Saric on their team they will move down, or up depending on the pick they are sacrificing, but if he is indeed on Ainge’s short list it is reassuring to know that Saric would be seen in Celtics green sooner rather than later if he was selected on draft night.