What Boston Celtics Pre-draft Workouts Could Say About Upcoming Draft Strategy

It's still very early in the process, but the Celtics reported workouts so far have included a very specific range of players

Mar 27, 2026; Washington, DC, USA; St. John's Red Storm forward Zuby Ejiofor (24) reacts after losing to Duke Blue Devils during a Sweet Sixteen game of the East Regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The NBA draft is about a month away, and the Boston Celtics will be selecting 27th and 40th, barring any trades. Brad Stevens has found success in that range, picking Hugo Gonzalez 28th last season and Baylor Scheierman at 30 the year before. 

Still, drafting in that range is always a bit of a crap shoot. The key is finding someone with one distinct NBA skill and hoping that him falling that far in the draft will motivate him to push hard and develop other skills and make him an impactful player. Finding that guy takes more than simply watching film. 

The draft combine can be a useful tool to get in front of a lot of players, but too many people have compared it to speed dating for it to be too big a factor in decision-making. Individual workouts are often the best chance a team gets to see and talk to players and get a sense of who they truly are. 

According to Hoopshype’s workout tracker, the Celtics have worked out the following players: 

• Zuby Ejiofor (C/F, 6-7.5, 245 lbs, 7-2 wingspan)
• Alex Karaban (F, 6-7, 225 lbs, 6-11 wingspan)
• Baba Miller (PF, 6-10.5, 208 lbs, 7-2 wingspan)
• Emanuel Sharp (G, 6-3, 208 lbs, 6-3 wingspan)
• Andrej Stojakovic (F, 6-5, 206 lbs, 6-8.5 wingspan)
• Rafael Castro (C, 6-9, 224 lbs, 7-1 wingspan)
• Kashie Natt (G, 6-3, 190 lbs) 

Most of these guys can’t be found in the first round of any of the reputable mock drafts around. Ejiofor is the highest-ranking player I could find, projected at 29 (Cleveland) on ESPN’s mock draft. A few of these guys don’t show up at all, so it’s possible some will be available for two-way deals when the draft is over. One, Kashie Natt, is apparently going through the process but has already committed to go to Oklahoma State next season. So this might be more informative for him. 

We’re still early in the process,so I don’t want to make too big a leap here, but it’s still interesting that seven players have reportedly come through the doors of the Auerbach Center and none of them have been consensus first-round picks. Right now it looks like all of these guys are second-rounders. 

What does that mean? Well, it can be any number of things. 

The most benign reason is that they just haven't been able to schedule some of the guys more likely to be available in the bottom third of the draft. The combine only just wrapped up on Sunday, so it’s safe to say the next four weeks will be full of draft workouts. 

One huge reason for working out a lot of players at this level is how rapid-fire the second round of the draft is, and how frenzied the race is to sign undrafted players. The Celtics will want to get guys who are willing to be on two-way deals or exhibit 10s and not waste their time with guys who are going back to school or going overseas to play internationally. They want to compile their list during this process, sort it properly, and know who to call when the minutes matter after the final pick is made. 

Some of these guys will, in fact, go back to school, in which case the Celtics can keep tabs and start their long dossier on them. A guy like Natt might be projected to go undrafted now, but Boston can keep an eye on him and see if he raises his stock if he goes back to school. They could even give him things to work on as he tries to get to the next level. They can make an impression on him that could turn into a relationship in next year’s draft. So there's certainly a reason to work those guys out as well. 

I admit, I do have a little part of me that wonders if they're working out guys at this level for a bigger reason. I wonder if there's a plan to trade the first pick as part of this summer’s roster re-shaping, which makes working out guys like that unnecessary. 

At the same time, it’s never a bad thing to put these guys through their paces. If there's one thing Brad Stevens does, it’s his due diligence, so I expect more of the first round names to come through at some point. The Celtics will need to know who these guys are on a more personal level, even if the plan is to trade out of that spot. You never know when one of these guys could come up in trade talks, so the more you know now, the better off you’ll be later.