NBA Draft

Boston Celtics

BOSTON, MA –&nbsp;The Boston Celtics announced today that the draft night trades that were previously agreed upon June 23, 2023 have been completed. Boston acquired the draft rights to forward Jordan Walsh, who was selected with the 38th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. The Celtics have also acquired the following second round draft picks as part of the transactions involving Washington, Memphis, Detroit, Charlotte, Sacramento, and Atlanta:

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Boston Celtics Complete Trades

Marc D'Amico

Jordan Walsh stepped out of the rain and into a sea of screaming children Monday afternoon amid his debut appearance as a Boston Celtic.

Walsh, just as every Celtics rookie since 2008 has done before him, made his first team appearance Monday afternoon at a community event put on by the organization. The 37th&nbsp;overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft helped to conduct a clinic with kids at the freshly renovated Cambridge Community Center before speaking to the Boston media for the very first time.

The 6-foot-7 wing emerged from a black van outside the community center and was greeted by a brief downpouring of rain. It was all sunshine just a few steps later, however, as he entered the gym that was full of excited screams. Walsh soon grabbed a microphone and returned the favor by showcasing his excitement to be in town as a member of the Celtics. The very first sentence that came off his lips was as follows: “Obviously, it’s a dream come true to be a part of the best organization in the NBA.”

Walsh’s feelings of gratitude continued to shine through as he met with the media about an hour later.

Walsh, who is just 19 years old, gushed constantly about landing with the Celtics. He is intrigued by the program and enamored by the history.

“I know what type of organization Boston is,” he stated with confidence. “I know that being able to be with guys like (Jayson) Tatum and (Jaylen) Brown, who can give me wisdom and who are in a winning environment, and been to the Playoffs so many times. An organization that has so many championships.

“To be in that environment, to grow in a place like that as your first place, so they set the foundation for your career? I feel like that’s the most important part is that foundation, and Boston has a great foundation for that.”

Walsh said he could feel that environment around him when he was inside the Auerbach Center for his two pre-Draft workouts.

“I got to be in the atmosphere of a Boston workout, and feel what it feels like to be in a winning culture’s workout in their gym. And you could feel it in everything you did,” Walsh said. “Even just doing ball handling drills and stretching; it’s always loud, people are screaming, people are always cheering you on.”

To think, that was just with the coaching and basketball operations staffs in the building for the workouts. Throw the likes of Tatum, Brown, Al Horford and Derrick White onto the court around him and the atmosphere will spike to a whole other level.

Within that atmosphere, Walsh said, he is hoping to be taken under Horford’s wing.

“I talked to Al Horford once,” he revealed. “We just texted, and I was like, ‘Hey, I’m coming to the city, I’m glad to be here, I’m ready to work. Hopefully I can be under your wing and you can show me the ropes.’”

One rope that no one will need to show Walsh is how to play hard. The rookie made it clear that he understands what Bostonians love and appreciate from their athletes, and that he’s going to provide such effort| every time he steps onto the floor.

Asked what the city is getting in him, Walsh responded without hesitation: “A guy who harps on defense. Who player super hard. Who is tough. Who is going to be consistent in that aspect of the game. Who is going to do the simple things that help winning, that maybe other people may overlook: diving on the floor.”

He continued, “I heard that Boston likes people who dive on the floor more than people who dunk the ball. So that guy’s going to be me.”

That surely is music to Bostonians’ ears. Truthfully, so was every other comment that Walsh made during his first appearance as a Celtic. This was an A-plus foray into the City of Boston. Some might even call it a slam dunk.

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Walsh Gushes Over Celtics While Making Debut in Boston

Taylor Snow

BOSTON – While Boston’s plethora of Draft Night trades are in the process of being finalized, it’s time to get to know the lone selection from the 2023 NBA Draft who is expected to join the team: the No. 38 overall pick, Jordan Walsh.

But first, let’s break down why the 19-year-old wing is expected to end up in a Celtics uniform.

Boston is expected to pull off a flurry of draft night deals that all started with the blockbuster, three-team trade that landed Kristaps Porzingis in the Bay State. In one of Boston's proposed trades, the Celtics will acquire the rights to Walsh, who was selected with the 38th overall pick.

The C’s initially owned the 35th overall pick, but that was dealt to Washington along with Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala as part of the Porzingis trade. Memphis, the third team involved in the deal, acquired Marcus Smart from Boston in exchange for the 25th overall pick and a 2024 first-round pick (via Golden State). Memphis also sent Tyus Jones to Washington to complete the three-way deal.

That is the only Celtics trade that has been made official so far, while the following deals are still being processed.

Boston acquired (i) the 31st pick and two future second-round picks from Detroit in exchange for the draft rights to the 25th&nbsp;pick (Marcus Sasser); (ii) Boston then acquired the 34th&nbsp;and 39th&nbsp;pick from Charlotte in exchange for the draft rights to the 31st&nbsp;pick (James Nnaji); (iii) Boston then acquired the draft rights to the 38th&nbsp;pick (Jordan Walsh) and a future Dallas second-round draft pick from Sacramento in exchange for the draft rights to the 34th&nbsp;pick (Colby Jones); and (iv) acquired a future second-round draft pick from Atlanta in exchange for the draft rights to the 39thpick (Mouhamed Gueye).

In simpler terms, the following second-round picks will be acquired by the Celtics once the trades have been finalized:

OK, now with all that chaos out of the way, let’s talk about No. 38.

Walsh just completed his freshman season at the University of Arkansas where he served as a long, explosive athlete with a strong defensive skill set.

Celtics President of Basketball Operations sees the 6-foot-7, Dallas native as a raw talent with plenty of upside.

“He's a good prospect,” Stevens said after the completion of Thursday night’s Draft. “He's young. We don't expect him to come in and take the world on fire in the first couple of months, Summer League, first year. He has a special ability laterally with his wingspan (7-foot-2) to swallow people up defensively. Like he really creates havoc with his arms and with his energy and with his ability to move his feet.”

Walsh was a part of a stacked Razorbacks team this past season that also included the No. 6 overall pick, Anthony Black, and the No. 27 overall pick, Nick Smith Jr. All three were one-and-done.

In his lone season at Arkansas, Walsh averaged 7.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 43.3 percent from the field and 27.8 percent from long range. Although shooting was his perceived weakness, Stevens believes claims that Walsh is a better shooter now than he was a few months ago, judging by the two draft workouts he had with the C’s.

“He is just getting better and better,” Stevens said of Walsh’s shooting. “I've always thought his touch looked good, but he looked hesitant at times. And so, I think over time he'll become a really good shooter who has the athleticism to finish and drive closeouts. But he'll be ahead on the defensive end from the start.”

Aside from Walsh, the Celtics also gained tremendous value by obtaining four future second-round picks. Second-rounders are a hotter commodity than ever now that the league is facing a new financial landscape under the terms of the upcoming Collective Bargaining Agreement. We have seen just how coveted they are through various trades across the league over the course of the past couple of weeks.

“We were excited what we were able to get out of [Thursday night] with more picks to be used in any variety of ways,” said Stevens, “and then a good player in Jordan.”

Plan to see Walsh in action two weeks from now, as he is expected to take part in NBA Summer League alongside last year’s second-round pick, JD Davison, and several other young, rising players.

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What the Celtics Are Getting in Jordan Walsh

The Unicorn and the Leprechaun united Thursday night, turning fantasy into reality.

Kristaps Porzingis is officially a Boston Celtic.

The former All-Star center/forward was acquired by the C’s in a Draft Night blockbuster deal involving the Memphis Grizzlies and the Washington Wizards.

Along with Porzingis (via Washington), the Celtics also landed the No. 25 pick in the 2023 Draft (via Memphis) and a 2024 first-round pick (via Memphis, via Golden State). Through a series of trades that have not yet been finalized, the C’s will be turning the 25th pick into five second-round picks – the 38th pick of the 2023 Draft, with which they acquired the draft rights to Arkansas forward, Jordan Walsh, along with four future picks.

The Wizards obtained Tyus Jones (via Memphis), Danilo Gallinari (via Boston), Mike Muscala (via Boston), and the No. 35 pick in the 2023 Draft (via Boston). The Grizzlies received Boston’s biggest chip in the trade: Marcus Smart.

The loss of Smart, the heart and soul of the team for the last nine seasons, is gut-wrenching from an emotional standpoint and one of the most difficult decisions that President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens has ever made. But from a business standpoint, getting a player of Porzingis’ caliber is a massive win for the Celtics.

The 7-foot-3 Latvian comes to Boston with eight years of NBA experience under his belt, boasting career averages of 19.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.8 blocks, and 1.8 3-point makes per game. He’s also coming off the best season of his career, which included marks of 23.2 PPG (career-high), 8.4 RPG, 2.7 APG (career-high), and 1.5 BPG, along with shooting clips of 49.8 percent from the field (career-high) and 38.5 percent from long range. His 65 games played represented his highest total since his 2016-17 sophomore season with the New York Knicks.

Ironically, his last game in a Wizards uniform came against the Celtics on March 28 when he led Washington to a 130-111 win with a stat line of 32 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, one block, one steal, and zero turnovers.

“He has just gotten better and better and better,” Stevens said of Porzingis during the wee hours of Friday morning after the completion of the Draft. “You see what he was doing this year, and I thought the games that we played against him and the games that I watched with the most intent against other teams, I thought he just had really taken another step. He was already good, but he just took another step.”

Aside from his suburb statistics, Porzingis’ playing style should make for an excellent fit on this Celtics roster.

For one, he’ll bolster Boston’s previously thin frontcourt, providing support alongside Al Horford and Rob Williams. He could get paired in a double-big lineup with either of those guys, or he could play the standalone 5.

Offensively, Porzingis is capable of scoring from anywhere on the floor and has the potential to be the first 20 PPG big man that the Celtics have had in some time.  He was the league's leading post scorer last season on a per-possession basis, while also ranking No. 2 among 7-footers in 3-point makes (137).

“We didn’t post a ton this year,” said Stevens, “but to be able to throw the ball in the post and just shoot over a switch and do it so efficiently and effectively is a big deal, let alone being able to play behind the line, shoot the ball or drive it or those types of things. He brings a lot to our team.’

Porzingis’ ability to space the floor could allow him to form a lethal pick-and-pop combo with both Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, and he should be able to play his game without stepping on their toes and dipping too much into their scoring production. It’ll also be helpful to have another star scorer on the floor when one or both of the Jays are on the bench.   

Not only is Porzingis one of the premier scorers at the rim, but he’s also one of the best at protecting it. He’s blocked 100-plus shots in five out of his seven seasons (he missed the 2018-19 season with a torn ACL), using his lateral quickness and height to track players to the basket and alter their shots. He was also the fourth-ranked pick-and-roll defender in the NBA last season behind Anthony Davis, Steven Adams, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. And he finished in the 99th percentile in both rim points saved and defensive field-goal percentage vs. expected.

The timing of this trade couldn’t have been any more perfect because, as his previous season suggests, Porzingis may be just starting to peak. He’s only 27 years old, so his best years could still be ahead of him.

With Porzingis alongside 26-year-old Brown and 25-year-old Tatum, the Celtics now have a legitimate trio of stars who are just about to enter their respective primes.

Now, that really is a fantasy turned into reality.

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In Adding Porzingis, Celtics Gain Another Star Entering His Prime

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The Boston Celtics used their lone 2021 Draft pick Thursday night, No. 45 overall, to draft 18-year-old Juhann Begarin out of France.

The selection of Begarin marks the second consecutive Draft during which the C’s have used their second-rounder to select a young prospect from overseas. Last year, they selected Yam Madar, who has quickly become a highly-regarded international prospect, with the 47th overall pick.

“We really like Juhann,” Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens said following the Draft. “I think that he’s a guy that’s a big, strong, versatile guard that can guard up (one position) with his strength and athleticism.”

Stevens then shared his takeaways from a recent visit Begarin made to Boston’s practice facility.

“He came in for a workout the other day. We got to see him up close, and we’ve been paying attention to him for a long time,” Stevens commented. “He’s a guy that we think, at his age, and his body, and his physical abilities, and the way that he works and the time that he’s put in thus far, he’s gonna have a really long career ahead of him.”

Stevens said that “the most likely avenue” for Begarin is that he will continue to play overseas next season, although that decision has not been finalized. Likewise, no decision has been made as to whether or not Begarin will be a part of Boston’s Summer League roster that is set to begin play Aug. 8.

Regardless of the outcome of those decisions, Stevens believes that the competitive level of Begarin’s French league will serve as a strong developmental environment for the young guard should he continue to play as a draft-and-stash pick overseas.

“I do think that it can be very, very beneficial,” the coach-turned-executive said of Begarin continuing to play overseas. “And that level of basketball is awfully good, and the coaching in all the different countries and all the different places around the world, as we see, awfully good. And so great preparation for next steps should that be the avenue that Juhann follows, and certainly what Yam has done.”

Begarin hails from Les Abymes, Guadeloupe – the same French commune and island as former Celtic wing Mickael Pietrus. He began playing professionally in 2017 with Centre Federal Du Basket-Ball of the French NM1 league at the age of 15. He remained there for two seasons before moving on to Paris Basketball of the French LNB Pro B league for the last two seasons, where he began to gain traction as an NBA prospect.

Begarin, who stands in at 6-foot-5 and 192 pounds, is coming off of a strong season with Paris Basketball, where he averaged 11.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game while playing an average of 26.6 minutes per game over 39 contests. He is an improved shooter who connected on 45.6 percent of his shots and 34.2 percent of his 3-pointers this past season. During one stretch of the season, he logged five consecutive double-digit scoring performances while helping to elevate his squad to the French LNB Pro A League.

The selection of Begarin is the first made by new Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens. Stevens traded away Boston’s first-round pick, No. 16. overall, in the Al Horford-Kemba Walker deal just days after taking over his new position.

The next order of business for Stevens and the Celtics is to finalize their Summer League roster, including a decision on Begarin’s status, prior to the group’s first practice Aug. 3. The team will then dive head-first into free agency, which begins Aug. 2.

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Celtics Select 18-Year-Old French Guard Juhann Begarin at No. 45

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BOSTON, MA – The Boston Celtics selected Juhann Begarin in the second round (45th overall), marking the team’s lone selection in the 2021 NBA Draft.

Begarin, 18, was selected by the Celtics after averaging 9.3 points on 45.6% shooting, 3.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.2 steals in 52 games over two seasons with Paris Basket of the Pro B League (2019-20 – 2020-21).

The Abymes, Guadeloupe native averaged 11.9 points on 45.9% shooting (36.4% 3-PT) in 33 games this past season, including three games of 20+ points. He produced double-digit scoring in five consecutive games during the team’s seven-game winning streak from May 25 through June 11, helping elevate Paris Basket to the French Pro A League.

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Celtics Draft Juhann Begarin in Second Round of 2021 NBA Draft

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addPhoto("https://publish.nba.com/celtics/sites/celtics/files/nesmith.jpg", "Aaron Nesmith", "Andy Lyons/Getty Images", "nesmith");
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BOSTON –  One week prior to being selected by the Boston Celtics in the 2020 NBA Draft, Aaron Nesmith already had green running through his mind.

Last Wednesday, during a pre-Draft Zoom call with the media members from across the country, the 6-foot-6 Vanderbilt product was asked out of the blue whether he saw a potential fit with the Celtics, to which he lit up and replied: “That team has a very bright future and I think I could step right in and make life easier for guys like Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, et cetera. Just giving those guys more space and more room to operate I think is going to really help elevate their game and help make life easier.”

Little did Nesmith know at that moment that his dream would soon become reality.

On Wednesday night, the Nesmith family gathered around a television to take part in the virtual Draft, for which Aaron dressed fittingly in a green plaid suit. At 9:30 p.m., commissioner Adam Silver emerged onto the screen and made the announcement that would change the 21-year-old wing's life: “With the 14th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, the Boston Celtics select Aaron Nesmith from Vanderbilt University.”

For a moment, Nesmith simply stared at the TV in shock, before erupting into tears of joy and collapsing into his father's chest.

“It’s a dream come true,” he told ESPN’s Malika Andrews shortly after the announcement. “Every kid dreams of this moment since they’re like eight years old.”

Nesmith was one of three players selected by the Celtics Wednesday night, along with 26th overall pick Payton Pritchard out of Oregon, and 47th overall pick Yam Madar out of Israel. The two first-rounders, in particular, should help Boston address one of its biggest offseason needs: shooting.

Nesmith, who described himself to his new Celtics fan base as “an absolute sniper,” shot an absurd 52.2 percent from 3-point range on 8.2 attempts through 14 games before his 2020 season was cut short due to a foot injury. Vanderbilt head coach and former NBA All-Star Jerry Stackhouse referred to him as “one of the best shooters I’ve seen” at the collegiate level.

C’s president of basketball operations Danny Ainge believes such shooting ability should translate straight to the NBA level, claiming that Naismith “could come in the gym and out-shoot most of our guys right this second.”

Because of that elite shot-making ability, Nesmith reiterated that he should be able to “make life easier for the creators of the offense – Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kemba Walker.”

On top of that, he claims to be “a guy that is always going to be there to work hard, to earn his stripes and to do it on both sides of the floor.”

Such hard work is also what the Celtics hope to get out of Pritchard, a scrappy four-year point guard out of Oregon. The reigning Pac-12 Player of the Year averaged 20.5 points, 5.5 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game for the Ducks this past season, while earning both the Lute Olson Award as the nation’s most outstanding non-freshman, and the Bob Cousy Award as the nation’s top point guard.

Pritchard, who also shot the ball well from deep at a clip of 41.5 percent, is hoping to come in and impact the team immediately with his toughness and competitive spirit.

“I can really shoot it, dribble, pass, but I think the biggest thing that I bring to the Celtics is just a competitive nature,” said the 6-foot-2 floor general. “I’m a winning-mentality type of guy that fights for everything, works for everything.”

Being a former NBA scrapper himself, Ainge developed a great fondness for Pritchard throughout the point guard's four-year tenure in Eugene, Oregon.

“He’s a guy I think can play in any system. He can play with any players,” said Ainge, who also happens to be a native of Eugene. “I love how he pushes the pace. He’ll make guys run. He’s playing with the ball in his hands. He gets the ball up the court very quickly and I think that’ll be a help to get the rest of the players up the court very quickly. He has that kind of leadership ability with the ball in his hands. He’s a fun player and I’m very excited to get him.”

While Ainge hopes to see his two first-rounders make an immediate impact, he views his second-round selection, Madar, as more of a work in progress.

“He’s a player we watched over in Israel play quite a bit, and we’ll see how it works out,” Ainge said of the 19-year-old point guard. “The plan will probably be to keep him overseas for at least another year and we’ll evaluate him from there, but we’re anxious to watch his growth and development as a player.”

The Celtics also had been scheduled to make a third first-round pick at No. 30, but Ainge opted to trade it to Memphis in exchange for future picks. His reasoning behind the move was that “we didn’t want to bring more than two rookies in this year.”

As for those two rookies, both Nesmith and Pritchard appear ready and able to contribute, with the hope of boosting the C’s this coming season with their shared combination of elite shooting and competitive spirit.

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Nesmith, Pritchard Hope to Impact C’s With Shooting, Competitive Spirit

BOSTON – The Boston Celtics addressed a glaring need during Wednesday night’s NBA Draft by selecting two of the most accomplished shooters out of the prospect pool.

Boston used the 14th overall pick to select sharpshooting guard Aaron Nesmith out of Vanderbilt, and then selected Oregon guard Payton Pritchard with the 26th overall pick.

Nesmith, a self-proclaimed “sniper,” is regarded by many as the top shooting prospect in the entire 2020 Draft pool. He shot a mindboggling 52.2 percent from 3-point range on 8.2 attempts per game before his season was cut short due to injury after 14 contests.

Nesmith’s shooting ability is borderline extraordinary, as ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas outlined on his network’s broadcast of the Draft.

“There’s nobody better catch-and-shoot in this Draft. Nobody better shooting off of screens,” Bilas said. “He’s got 1.4 points per possession in jump shots off of screens. That is ridiculous.”

Pritchard is not quite on Nesmith’s level with regard to 3-point marksmanship – truthfully, not many are – but he is indeed an accomplished shooter in his own right.

Pritchard connected on 41.5 percent of his 3-pointers this past season while attempting 6.8 shots from long distance per game. He shot 38.0 percent from beyond the arc over his four-year career at Oregon, which featured Pac-12 Player of the Year honors this past season.

Pritchard’s resume extends well beyond his shooting and conference Player of the Year honors as well. He also earned the 2020 Lute Olson Award as the nation’s top non-freshman, the 2020 Bob Cousy Award as the nation’s top point guard, and he was a consensus first-team All-American.

By adding two established shooters like Nesmith and Pritchard, the Celtics addressed a significant need on their roster. Last season, not a single role player on their team shot better than 37.8 percent from 3-point range. Only one player overall, Jayson Tatum, shot better than 38.3 percent from long distance.

The lack of 3-point marksmanship certainly affected the playmaking abilities of the team’s top scorers in Tatum, Kemba Walker and Jaylen Brown. There is less room to operate and break defenses down when shooters are not surrounding those stars.

Nesmith and Pritchard have the ability to open things up for that trio and the rest of the roster merely by standing on the court. Their shooting ability demands respect, which could very well provide the team’s top players with more shooting, driving and passing lanes.

Shooting is one skill that translates well from the collegiate ranks to the NBA ranks. It also just so happened to have been a skill the Celtics needed and found during the first round of the 2020 NBA Draft.