2023 NBA Draft Team Recap: Boston Celtics
While the core of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown - plus Robert Williams and Al Horford - is still in place for the 2023-2024 version of the Boston Celtics, they will have a new look.
In a move that landed them talented big man Kristaps Porzingis to add to Williams and Horford, they had to give away a player who was at the very least the heart and soul of their defense, Marcus Smart.
The defense took another hit when they opted to sign-and-trade forward Grant Williams to the Dallas Mavericks.
While these moves would not point to any open minutes for a rookie second round pick in the starting lineup, it does leave the potential for a defensive minded forward to contribute early in his career.
Insert Jordan Walsh.
Walsh is not the only late first-round, early-second round (No. 38 overall) pick to be discussed having an early role in his career during the upcoming 2023-2023 NBA season but he does differ in that he is a 19-year-old one-and-one as opposed to a four, or even five year college senior with experience.
The 6-foot-7 forward from Link Prep Academy was known for his defense during his freshman season at Arkansas and rightfully so. He is long, athletic, versatile and really takes pride in his abilities on that end of the court.
It is easy to see how a defender in this mold could be utilized by the Celtics in their second unit during the regular season after the departures of Smart and Williams. The question comes on what Walsh will be able to provide on the other end of the floor.
He averaged just seven points per game last year on 43% shooting from the field and 28% from the 3-point line.
While the defense is a major value, he will have to provide more offensively - ideally, floor spacing - than that considering the box score assists and rebounds also don’t blow you away.
The encouraging sign for Walsh and the Celtics is what he did in his five games at the Las Vegas Summer League. It is a very small sample size but averaging 16 points per game while shooting 41% from the 3-point line on 5.4 attempts per game has to bring a smile to the face of President of Basketball Operations, Brad Stevens.
It should also be mentioned that the Celtics do currently have two open roster spots which they might be inclined to use on a second unit forward with more experience and allow Walsh to develop more slowly if they do not think he is ready for that role.
Want to join the discussion? Like Draft Digest on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest NBA Draft news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.