The Boston Celtics will soon travel to Walt Disney World Resort in Florida to take part in the NBA's 22-team restart later this month. While most of the basketball world's attention will be focused on the seeding games and the playoffs, front offices around the league will continue to be hard at work preparing for the 2020 NBA Draft.
It's an important draft for the Celtics for a few reasons.
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One is that the team is getting expensive. Kemba Walker and Jaylen Brown both signed large contracts over the last year, and Jayson Tatum could agree to a max deal of his own later this year. Gordon Hayward also has the ability to opt-in to the final year of his contract, which is worth more than $30 million. The Celtics aren't likely to have much room under the salary cap, which makes finding young players on cheap contracts who are capable of playing meaningful minutes very important.
Boston selected forward/center Grant Williams in the middle of the first round last year, and he's been an effective rebounder/defender as a rookie. Finding useful role players such as Williams with late first-round picks will be crucial to the Celtics being able to fill their roster with the depth required to be a title contender.
The Celtics are expected to have three first-round picks in the upcoming draft -- their own, plus selections from the Memphis Grizzlies (top-six protected) and Milwaukee Bucks. Two of those picks, Boston's own selection and Milwaukee's, will be toward the end of Round 1.
Boston Celtics
Which players should we expect the Celtics to target in the first round? Here's our latest roundup of 2020 NBA mock drafts.
A. Sherrod Blakely, NBC Sports Boston
No. 17: Theo Maledon, PG, France
No. 26: Jalen Smith, SF/PF, Maryland
No. 30: Aleksej Pokuševski, C, Olympiacos
Gary Parrish, CBS Sports
No. 17: Theo Maledon, PG, France
No. 26: Xavier Tillman, PF, Michigan State
No. 30: Zeke Nnaji, C, Arizona
NBADraft.net
No. 17: R.J. Hampton, PG/SG, New Zealand
No. 26: Reggie Perry, PF, Mississippi State
No. 30: Tyler Bey, SF/PF, Colorado
Tankathon
No. 17: Precious Achiuwa, PF/C, Memphis
No. 26: Leandro Bolmaro, SG, FC Barcelona
No. 30: Zeke Nnaji, C, Arizona
Rob Schaefer, NBC Sports Chicago
No. 17: Precious Achiuwa, PF/C, Memphis
No. 26: Xavier Tillman, PF, Michigan State
No. 30: Aleksej Pokuševski, C, Olympiacos
James Ham, NBC Sports Bay Area
No. 17: Theo Maledon, PG, France
No. 26: Devon Dotson, PG, Kansas
No. 30: Aleksej Pokuševski, C, Olympiacos