Boston Celtics: Early look at 5 2018 NBA Draft prospects, Part 1

2. DeAndre Ayton

Height: 7’1″, Weight: 250 lbs
Age: 19
Position: Center
Stats: 19.7 PPG, 11.9 RPG, 1.5 APG, 1.5 BPG, 0.5 SPG, 61.9 FG%, 30.4 3P%

• Player Comparison: Joel Embiid
• Ceiling: All-Star
• Floor: Starter

A lot of mock drafts have DeAndre Ayton going No. 1. For me personally, I don’t believe that he should be going first overall. I was hesitant to give Bamba the nod over Ayton on this list, but until Bamba shows some offensive improvement over Ayton, then the Arizona product will continue to have the edge.

Ayton has incredible size, and it will be a great thing in the NBA. He stands at 7’1” and weighs 245 pounds. You’d like to see him add 10-15 pounds eventually, but the 245 pounds is a great start in that direction. Unlike Bamba, Ayton has the offensive game that you would like to see. For someone of his size, Ayton has the ability to knock down jumpers from anywhere on the court. He is currently shooting the ball at a respectable 30.4 percent from 3.

Because he is so tall, he gets a lot of points at the rim, but he also has the ability to rise up and shoot a few mid-rangers per game. Ayton would be a great addition for this Celtics team on the offensive end. Imagine a lineup where you have a 19-year-old center who is 7’1”, and Al Horford standing right next to him. That’s scary to think about all the different possibilities.

Both of these players have the ability to hit you from beyond the arc, and inside the paint. Where they are separated is their defensive ability. Horford is a good defender who can teach Ayton the ins and outs of the game.

You’d think that with his size, he’d be a force to be reckoned with on the defensive end. He isn’t terrible by all means, but there are definitely players in this draft class who have a better understanding of playing defense. He only averages 1.5 blocks per game, which seems low for his size, but more importantly, is low compared to recent players we’ve looked at.

Hopefully with Horford being around him, some of his good defense will rub off on him. Thankfully, Ayton is a smart player who should be able to pick up a few tricks. He’s young and will have time to develop into the player that we would come to expect from a high draft pick.

He draws the comparison to Joel Embiid because of their build, and similar skill-set. As previously mentioned, Ayton has the tools to be an average shooter from 3 . Currently, Embiid is shooting it at a 29.4 percent clip. They both shoot the ball similarly, where they don’t have the shooting abilities as, say, Karl-Anthony Towns, but they can find ways to score even if they aren’t lights out shooters.

Both Embiid and Ayton are similar is size. Ayton is an inch taller, but Embiid is only five pounds more than his counterpart. Embiid was five pounds lighter entering the league, so they could be relatively similar in size in the next five years. Where the two are separated is on defense. Embiid is a better defender, but if Ayton can improve upon that, he will be a two-way superstar.