by Cole Zellner

With All-Star guard Isaiah Thomas as their good luck charm and representative at the NBA Draft Lottery, the Boston Celtics received the third pick in the draft, a pick they got from the Brooklyn Nets in the famous (or infamous, depending on your allegiances) trade that ended the Boston’s Big Three era.

Now in a precarious position, Boston was hoping to secure the first or second pick so they could acquire on of this year’s two great prospects, Ben Simmons of LSU or Brandon Ingram from Duke.

Simmons is widely known as the next LeBron James. His combination of size and athleticism allow him to play like a guard even with his 6-foot-10 inch frame. He’s shown that he can start a fast break as a guard or finish over taller guys with ease.

However, his jump shot was concern in his only year at LSU and he looked like he didn’t care much about winning.

The other prospect, Brandon Ingram has shown flashes of being a Kevin Durant type player in his one season at Duke.

At the beginning of the season it looked as if he was scared to be aggressive and wasn’t trying to accept a role as a superstar. As the season progressed, he looked unstoppable and NBA ready.

NBA teams still want Ingram to get a little bigger and stronger, so he can live up to his superstar potential the first day he steps on the court.

The Celtics are praying that the Philadelphia 76ers or the Los Angeles Lakers need something other than a forward. If Simmons and Ingram are picked in the first two spots then the Celtics will have a tough decision to make.

The players that are highly touted are Wooden Award winner and former Oklahoma guard Buddy Hield, Kentucky guard Jamal Murray, Croatian prospect Dragan Bender, and Cal freshman Jaylen Brown

 

In need of a go-to scorer and shooter, the Celtics could go with Hield or Murray. However, Boston is already bogged down with a bevy of young guards, and bringing in another one might not make much sense.

But Bender would make a lot of sense. The 18-year-old, 7-foot-1 inch forward has length, can shoot from outside, and run the floor with the best of them. With the great rookie season of New York Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis, Boston might be willing to take a risk on an international player.

The other option the Celtics have is to trade the pick for a veteran star.  Some big names have been mentioned (Jahlil Okafor, Kevin Love, DeMarcus Cousins, etc.), and the Celtics have plenty of options to explore.

Whatever the situation may be, only on June 23 will we be able to tell what the future of the Boston Celtics has in store

So with the third pick in the 2016 NBA draft the Boston Celtics select…

I guess we’ll have to wait and see.