The Boston Celtics are back in the first round of the 2023 NBA Draft after Wednesday night's stunning three-team trade with the Washington Wizards and Memphis Grizzlies.
The reported deal includes the Celtics acquiring center Kristaps Porzingis from the Wizards and two first-round picks from the Grizzlies, including the No. 25 overall selection in Round 1 on Thursday night. The major piece the Celtics gave up in the trade was point guard Marcus Smart, who is headed to Memphis.
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Getting a first-round pick in this year's draft is a huge win for the Celtics. Surrounding your superstars -- such as Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown -- with good, young, cheap players is going to be vitally important under the new CBA, which has several mechanisms to punish teams that consistently have a super-high payroll.
The Celtics have a pretty good track record in this area of the draft from pick No. 20 through the end of the first round. Recent selections in this range include point guard Payton Pritchard (No. 26, 2020), forward Grant Williams (No. 22, 2019) and center Robert Williams III (No. 27, 2019).
All three of those players have given the Celtics meaningful contributions in both the regular season and playoffs.
More Porzingis trade analysis
Which prospects might the Celtics target at No. 25 in the first round Thursday night?
Here's a list of players frequently projected to be taken in the No. 22 to No. 28 range in recent expert mock drafts.
- Nick Smith Jr., PG/SG, Arkansas
- Brandin Podziemski, SG, Santa Clara
- Rayan Rupert, SG/SF, NZ Breakers
- Ben Sheppard, SG/SF, Belmont
- Jaime Jaquez Jr., SF, UCLA
- Kris Murray, PF, Iowa
- Noah Clowney, PF, Alabama
- Leonard Miller, PF, G-League Ignite
- James Nnaji, C, Barcelona
Even after the Porzingis trade, the Celtics could still use another center. Porzingis and Williams have lengthy injury histories, and Al Horford is 37 years old and just completed his 16th NBA season. Adding a rookie with some size, athleticism and good interior defense would be a nice pickup for Boston. A 3-and-D wing also would be a solid upgrade for the Celtics, especially if restricted free agent Grant Williams does not return.
This is an important pick for the Celtics. If they find a good bench player for next season -- like the champion Denver Nuggets found in Christian Braun (No. 22, 2022) -- it would go a long way in giving this roster enough depth for a championship push.