NBA Draft June 26th - 27th 2024

At #54 the Boston Celtics select:


Anton Watson

6'8"
233 lbs
Gonzaga
29
POS RK
75
OVR RK


Pre-Draft Analysis

Strengths: Watson is a smart, versatile forward whose feel for the game and competitiveness made him a valuable cog in a variety of roles over his five seasons at Gonzaga.

Weaknesses: He is a below-average athlete by NBA standards and is not as prolific from the perimeter as one would hope to compensate, making just 44 3-pointers in 149 career games.

The verdict: Watson's ability to defend guards, wings and big men stands out along with his passing ability, intensity and willingness to do the little things, a big reason he won 130 of 149 games in his decorated college career. He will not stand out on tools or scoring ability, but he is a team-first player who will have a chance to carve out an NBA career if he can prove his 41% 3-point accuracy on limited attempts from beyond the arc last season was not a fluke. -- Jonathan Givony


Bob


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* Suns and 76ers each lost a 2024 Draft second-round pick due to League penalty.

There will only be 58 picks in the draft, instead of 60.

Undrafted players:

Are there any C/PF of interest?

Danny's probably hoping to turn Filipowski into the next Kelly Olynyk.

We coulda had Ulrich. Anton must be way better.

A few of the players on the undrafted list worked out for the Celtics.  I like Justin Edwards out of Kentucky.

Branden Carlson shot 37.9% from 3 on 4.7 attempts per game with Utah.  5th year player at Utah.  he is a 7 footer and deserves a look if he can shoot like that.

see for yourself

here is a more extensive video on Carlson

gyso wrote:

I think the whole thing is a farce. If his dad was former Suns, Pelicans, and Nets player Mike James he would not have been on any NBA team radar, much less their draft board. IMO, his father, in a desperate and transparent attempt to have a”first” to satisfy his enormous ego and too be able to say “I did and MJ didn’t” play with my son. I’m not a huge Jordan fan, I definitely respect his achievements and his greatness but I will say this, if Michael Jordan wanted to “make history” by playing with his son, he would have forced the issue to make it happen, and it would have happened. It kind of reminds me of what Mickey Mantle said when Arod was threatening to steal 40 bases and hit 40 home runs. Mickey said “if I knew they’d make such a big deal out of it, I’d have done it years ago”. MJ was too classy and dedicated to what it takes to reach the NBA to pull a disrespectful stunt like that. IMO Lebron James is too self absorbed, too egotistical and too insecure to see how ridiculous this charade of his kid being a legitimate NBA player really is. Consider  the case of LiAngelo Ball, he is 6’5” 230lbs, a definite NBA body, averaged 33.8 points a game as a HS senior and was four star recruit, ranked in the top fifty for his position, SG, he would wipe the floor with the boy king but yet he can’t get a sniff from an NBA team because he’s just not good enough. As I posted earlier I hate the Lakers and I strongly dislike Lebron James. Just one man’s opinion but this whole escapade gives me WWE Vince McMahon vibes and calls in the question of the legitimacy of the sport. AS I said earlier, just one man’s opinion too be taken for what it’s worth.

Celtics Assistant GM and Director of Scouting Austin Ainge talks with Forsberg about our two draft picks.  Ainge explains why he likes these two and what he looks for in players as they progress through college.  An interesting observation about Watson that I didn't gleam from highlight films and writeups.

Ainge is in charge of Summer League roster compilation, so he won't get to play golf or sleep until the end of July when camp invitations and coach selection is done.





Bob


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