NBA Draft: Luka Doncic rises to first in 2018 NBA Redraft

For a string of picks here in the 20s, teams in the redraft have been taking players similar or marginally better than the player they originally chose. That streak breaks here, as the Boston Celtics originally took center Robert Williams III; Time Lord went 13th in our redraft to the LA Clippers. Instead, the Celtics swing the other way and “go small” in selecting Anfernee Simons.

In one sense, it’s difficult to get a clear read on the play of Anfernee Simons. He has been buried behind one of the best point guards in the league, and one who plays a significant amount of minutes. The presence of Damian Lillard invariably means his backup will get sparse playing time.

Perhaps accordingly, Simons’ development has come along slowly. As a rookie, he appeared in just 20 games and scored a total of 75 points. In his second season, he officially cracked the rotation, nearly tripling his minutes and playing in 70 games. Last year he stepped up as a shooter, dropping in 3.9 3-pointers per-36 minutes on 42.6 percent shooting.

Simons is basically just a scorer, not bringing much of any passing to the table. Defensively he isn’t a pushover and has decent size, but he very rarely generates steals and when paired with another minus defender makes for a poor pairing. Even so, the Celtics get a reserve guard with upside and offensive pizazz, a player they can plug in for rotation minutes behind Kemba Walker.