What grades do Danny Ainge and the Boston Celtics receive for each of their 2017 NBA Draft picks?
The Boston Celtics are fresh off of a very successful season that saw them make it to the Eastern Conference Finals. Unfortunately, they were defeated soundly by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
In order to close the gap between themselves and the Cavaliers, Boston came into the offseason looking to make some key additions. Danny Ainge and the Celtics won the NBA Draft Lottery and the first overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, but proceeded to trade the pick to the Philadelphia 76ers in a deal that returned the No. 3 overall pick. With that pick, the Celtics were happy to take Duke star Jayson Tatum.
Boston ended up making four selections throughout the 2017 NBA Draft. Some of them don’t have a great chance to end up playing in 2017-18 and a couple of them may not make the roster. That being said, the Celtics believe that at least one or two of them could become impact players.
If the Celtics want to get back to the conference finals and beat the Cavaliers, they will need to make a splash in free agency. Ainge has some cap room to work with and many believe that their main target will be Gordon Hayward. Boston was also linked in trade talks with the Indiana Pacers about a potential Paul George trade during the draft, but those talks stalled in the middle of the first round.
All of that being said, what grades do the Celtics deserve for each of their four draft picks throughout the 2017 NBA Draft?