Forsberg: Five bigs the Celtics should consider in 2020 NBA Draft
Ask a Celtics fan what the team’s most pressing need is this offseason and the answer will almost certainly be a big man.Fair or not, the final and maybe lasting image of Boston’s center position is a foul-ailed Daniel Theis unable to slow Miami’s Bam Adebayo at the finish line of the conference finals. And despite all the good that Boston’s ragtag group of big men did — and particularly Theis — throughout the 2020 season, there's a very vocal group of fans who remain adamant the team needs an upgrade at that position.Could the Celtics find help at the center spot in this year’s NBA Draft? After hunting for shooters, our resident college hoops guru Robert Snyder is back to help assess the crop of big men in the 2020 NBA Draft.
Operating with limited resources in the summer of 2019, the Celtics cobbled together a stable of low-budget bigs with diverse skill sets and rolled with a center-by-committee approach that was often dictated by health and matchups.
While many fretted the departures of Al Horford and Aron Baynes, the Celtics leaned heavy on a re-signed Theis and free-agent addition Enes Kanter, with that duo pairing up for roughly 82 percent of the team’s non-smallball minutes. Robert Williams, when healthy, got opportunities while rookies Vincent Poirier and Tacko Fall made brief cameos.
Despite losing two backline anchors, the Celtics saw their defensive rating improve during the 2019-20 season. After finishing sixth in the NBA with a defensive rating of 107 in 2018-19, Boston shimmied up to fourth at 106.5 last season.
What’s more, the Celtics landed three centers in the top 35 of ESPN’s Real Plus-Minus rankings, including Theis at No. 4 (trailing only Nikola Jokic, Rudy Gobert, and Joel Embiid); Kanter at 14; and Williams at 35. Some of the team’s best minutes inside the bubble came when they shuffled rookie Grant Williams into the lineup as a smallball center.
Before we dive into potential draft options, let’s start by resetting Boston’s big-man depth chart.
Theis has a non-guaranteed $5 million salary but is one of the NBA’s best bargains at that price point. Kanter holds a $5 million player option but, if the Celtics signal a desire to lean heavier on their younger players, could be a trade option even if he triggers the option. Robert Williams and Grant Williams are back on affordable rookie deals and should be in line for increased roles. Vincent Poirier could be trade fodder if the team doesn’t want to pay modest money ($2.6 million) for a fifth center.
The Celtics could also seek a big-man upgrade via free agency — likely utilizing the taxpayer midlevel — and old friend Aron Baynes and Jayson Tatum’s buddy Harry Giles will invariably be mentioned. If the team desires to thin its current big-man situation, it could pay another team to take on Poirier’s contract on draft night.
Which bigs might the Celtics consider in this year’s draft? Let’s ponder some scenarios:
The scenario: Armed with three first-round picks and lusting over an impact player near the top of the draft, the Celtics give up swings of the bat in hopes of hitting a home run.
Snyder’s synopsis: Would be more of a defensive presence than an offensive presence. Super athletic at the rim and a very good rebounder. I worry about how polished his offensive game could become. Reminds me of a Robert Williams-type.
The skinny: A 19-year-old who not only draws Adebayo comparisons but has said how the Heat All-Star “is the kind of player that I hope I can become.” A big leaper off two feet negates any size (6-foot-10) concerns though he’ll have to prove he can hang with the Joel Embiids of the world at the NBA level.
Forsberg’s feeling: Celtics fans will drool over the idea of hunting for a Bam counter but the question is whether Okongwu is simply a more disciplined Timelord or can genuinely be Boston’s smallball big of the future. The cost of climbing to get Okongwu could be steep. Last year, the Hawks traded picks No. 8, 17, and 35 to climb up to 4. Boston might not even have enough ammunition at 14, 26, and 30 to shimmy high enough for Okongwu but a team’s desire for swings of the bat in an uncertain draft could aid that quest.
