Chad Ford Mock 6.1

[Eddie20]

Has us taking Murray ahead of Bender and Zizic ahead of Sabonis, Luwawu, and Jeanne.

3. Boston Celtics*

Jamal Murray
Kentucky
Freshman
Guard

A late season swoon by the Nets upped the Celtics' chances of winning the lottery to 15.6 percent chance (due to the trade that sent Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to Brooklyn). Given that the team just won 48 games, landing a top-three pick could turn them into contenders next year.

With Simmons and Ingram off the board, the Celtics can turn to need. Another consistent shooter in the backcourt could help and I think they'll have a tough decision to make between Murray and Buddy Hield.

While Hield's a better player now, Murray is three years younger and can play point guard. And the good news is that he's NBA ready from the get go.

Add him to the mix with Marcus Smart, Avery Bradley and Isaiah Thomas and the Celtics will have one of the best young backcourts in the NBA.

16. Boston Celtics*

Ante Zizic
Croatia
Age: 19
Center

Many scouts feel that after Bender and Korkmaz are off the board, Zizic is the best international prospect in the draft.

He is an elite rebounder and excellent athlete for his size. In fact, he's good enough that the Celtics could decide he could help their team right away.


23. Boston Celtics

Thon Maker
Australia
Age: 19
Forward

This is the third first-round pick for the Celtics and gives Ainge a chance to swing for the fences.

He's got the size and the motor to be a terrific NBA player, and his jump shot and perimeter skills are coming along, too. He's still painfully thin and doesn't have a strong feel for the game, but a year in the D-League would do him good.

[The One]

Like Murray...don't love him.

Really like the Zizic and Maker picks.

If Celtics don't get Simmons or Ingram...I hope they try to trade back a few slots and get Skal.

Then address the shooting via trade or FA.

[mqtcelticsfan]

I love the idea of landing Maker and some intriguing International prospects if we keep our picks. Hard to argue too much with Murray if we land outside of the top 2 as well.

I will say that I'd prefer the international specs to come in the 2nd round if we were to gamble on Maker as it'd be nice to get at least one possible role player in the first round, but given how unlikely it is that we make all our selections in the first place, I'd be okay with this strategy.