The Boston Celtics hold the 27th pick in the upcoming NBA Draft and, assuming that they retain it, will have several options to select for their 2019 team. With this being Boston’s lone 2018 draft pick, it’s all the more important to try to nail the selection, especially in an era where rookies are playing larger roles.
Of course, having the 27th pick means that the Celts will not likely be drafting a future superstar, but the good news for them is that they don’t need their draft pick to pan out as a superstar; Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward, and an emerging Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are already on the team.
With the draft fewer than two weeks away, it has been reported by The Boston Globe and Boston.com that the Celtics have “narrowed their list” of candidates for the 27th pick to 10 prospects. One of those possible 10 is reportedly former Duke guard Grayson Allen.
Why Boston SHOULD draft Allen:
Tripping, tripping, and more tripping—that was what defined Grayson Allen in his sophomore and junior seasons. But despite those senseless outbursts, he demonstrated improved leadership and self-control during the course of his senior year, suggesting that his on-court antics shouldn’t be as much of a concern to teams like the Celtics looking to draft him. In fact, Nick Pagliuca, a former Duke guard and son of Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca, talked to Allen about his incidents and gave “two thumbs up” to Allen’s team leadership following that talk. Austin Ainge followed up on that by saying, “We’re good on him. All the character stuff.” Plus, I think that Boston fans would get behind any instigating or back-talk of his in the Garden—Brad Stevens not so much.
Allen’s 3-point shooting (37% last season), free throw shooting (85%), and eFG% (53.6%) highlight his upside as a shooter in the NBA. He has a quick release and very deep range, which would benefit the Celtics’ floor spacing, enabling more talented drivers such as Irving and Tatum to go to work. Plus, he’s solid at reading off-ball screens. Though his athleticism appeared to drop off from his freshman campaign (possibly due to added upper body muscle), he remains an above-average athlete, which helps him grab tough rebounds. He developed his passing during his senior season, as he played extended periods at point guard, allowing him to get more comfortable with his pick-and-roll decision making. All in all, he plays with a fierce passion and loves to compete—two qualities that Celtics fans admire and frankly expect from their players.
Why Boston SHOULD NOT draft Allen:
If you want to play for the Boston Celtics, you must be able to defend. Allen was a defensive liability at Duke; as a freshman who was turned to for energy and defense on a team that won the National Championship, his defensive play progressively worsened as his importance to the team increased. If he were to be taken by Boston, he wouldn't have the pressure to score much and would instead be used exclusively as an energy and defense guy. However, in the NBA, the defensive weak link often gets exposed and is subbed out for reinforcements—Kyle Korver against the Warriors is an example.
His offensive game isn’t particularly impressive outside of his shooting: He has slow first steps and an underdeveloped isolation game. He does a decent job with getting leverage on defenders but tends to throw up off-balance shots at the rim.
Most of all, the Celtics will find themselves with better players available than Allen at No. 27. Donte Divincenzo, a similar type of player in appearance, can also shoot well, but he plays much better defense and has more advanced offensive moves and finishing abilities than Allen. Additionally, more lengthy and versatile prospects like Khyri Thomas, Josh Okogie, and De’Anthony Melton could be on the board; I’d prefer all four of these guys.
Will Boston draft Allen (if he’s on the board)?
Honestly, I wouldn’t bet on it. As mentioned, I expect that they’ll have the aforementioned four guys ranked higher on their board and would thus draft one of them instead of Allen. Of course, there’s always a chance that he winds up wearing the green and white. Perhaps Danny Ainge has a strange affinity towards players from Duke (Irving, Tatum, and even Ojeleye played there before transferring), and perhaps Ainge sees Allen as a newer version of his scrappy self.
(Stats via The Ringer and ESPN)
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