Grading recent Boston Celtics draft classes
With Grant Williams signing a four-year deal with the Dallas Mavericks recently, the last of the Boston Celtics’ 2019 draft class has officially departed. Four rookies made their way onto Boston’s roster that year, and all four players have now moved on to new teams.
This raises the question: how good have the Celtics actually been at drafting in recent years?
The franchise’s front office has built a solid reputation over the past half-decade, navigating through three head coaches, two general managers and tons of roster overhaul while remaining contenders. But, an area that may be glossed over is bringing in new, young talent.
Let's look at the draft picks that Boston has made in the last five years, assessing how they’ve turned out, and assigning each class a letter grade. Let’s start with the earliest.
2019
Draft Pick(s): Romeo Langford, Grant Williams, Carsen Edwards, Tremont Waters
Grade: B
None of these players made it beyond their rookie contract for the Celtics, which is disappointing considering how exciting these picks were on draft night. After Purdue’s NCAA Tournament run that year, everyone thought Carsen Edwards was bound to be a stud. Now, he plays professionally in Turkey.
Like Edwards, Tremont Waters is also out of the league and now plays in Puerto Rico. Romeo Langford snuck his way into the starting lineup a handful of times for Boston, but is now a free agent after being released by the San Antonio Spurs.
Grant Williams was clearly the best pickup from this draft and a valuable piece of Boston’s recent success, but not enough to warrant a payday from the Celtics. Still, Game 7 against the Milwaukee Bucks will never be forgotten.
2020
Draft Pick(s): Aaron Nesmith, Payton Pritchard, Yam Madar
Grade: C+
Aaron Nesmith and Payton Pritchard were both elite shooters in college, and seemed like perfect fits for the modern NBA when the Celtics chose them on draft night. The former didn’t exactly live up to the expectations many fans had for him coming into the league, shooting 31.8% on three-pointers during his time in Boston. Though, he was a surprising spark for the team against the Golden State Warriors in the 2022 NBA Finals.
Pritchard turned into a more useful pick, though he was taken 12 selections after Nesmith. His shooting ability has been a boost at times for the Celtics, and moments such as his 30-point triple-double in the final game of last season show high potential. Although, his time in green may be coming to an end soon after he has shown interest in being traded.
Yam Madar was a draft-and-stash pick for Boston, and he continues to be stashed away in Turkey. He’s yet to play a non-Summer League game in the NBA, and it’s unclear if he ever will after three years of no minutes.
2021
Draft Pick(s): Juhann Begarin
Grade: D
Juhann Begarin is in a similar boat to Yam Madar, having been selected by Boston a couple of years ago but failing to step on the court for them as of yet. He’s currently playing in the top tier of French basketball and is only 20 years old. Last season in league games, he averaged 11.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.4 assists while shooting 39.6% from the field.
He still has time to prove himself as a solid draft choice, but until he gets NBA minutes under his belt, it’s hard to see this is a valuable selection by Boston.
2022
Draft Pick(s): JD Davison
Grade: C-
JD Davison was taken with the 53rd overall pick in the second round of last year’s draft, and hasn’t had much opportunity to show his talents since then. It was clear when he was selected that he would bring athleticism at the point guard position, but with just 66 minutes played it’s difficult to get a full read on him yet.
His summer league stint earlier this month showed his playmaking ability, his best performance coming against the Lakers with 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists. However, he also turned the ball over 22 times in five games, a problem the Celtics certainly don’t need more of.
2023
Draft Pick(s): Jordan Walsh
Grade: A-
Could this be an overreaction to a great five-game stretch in the Summer League? Maybe. Could we be witnessing one of the great Celtics in the making before our very eyes? Also, maybe.
I love Jordan Walsh. Boston loves Jordan Walsh. Acquired with the 38th overall pick in the second round, it feels like he could be the steal of this year’s draft. He’s a tenacious defender, an efficient scorer, and a long player. All of this could point to him becoming the third option at the wing position this season behind Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
It’s very early and until we see regular season playing time, we won’t know for sure how he’ll pan out. But right now, it feels like Walsh could end up being the best draft pick for the Celtics out of any of these players since 2019.