Who did the Celtics Draft? How can They impact the Team?

The Celtics added small forward Aaron Nesmith and a pair of guards at the NBA draft this past November in hopes of bolstering their shooting and bench support. The Celtics young core of Jaylen Brown, and Jayson Tatum, along with other young stars, have yet to hit their primes, and have lots of room to grow. The Celtics needed more point guard depth, and shooting. That's what they got.

Aaron Nesmith is a 21 year old Small Forward out of Vanderbilt University. He is 6’6” and is lights-out from the three point line. He shot over 50% last season behind the three point line, and averaged 23 points per game. 5.3 total rebounds per game is pretty good for a small forward as well.

His rebounding may not translate into the NBA as much as the shooting, since he will be playing against grown men, as opposed to smaller college players. He will be a solid backup to Jason Tatum, or could be slid into the three spot while Tatum moves to the four.

Payton Pritchard, out of Oregon, is 6’2”, averaged 5.5 assists, and 20.5 ppg in his final season. He shot over 40% from the three point line, and 80% from the free throw line. On the defensive end he averaged 1.5 steals per game. He is a year older than Nesmith at 22 years old, and logged two more college seasons than him.

With the 46th pick in the draft, Yam Madar was the Celtics final selection in the 2020 draft. He is a 6’6” point guard, who has already been playing professionally in Israel, and averaged 14.3 points per game and 6.3 assists. He shot 33% from the three point line as well.

These three players, along with Free Agency pickups in Tristian Thompson, and Jeff Teague, will hopefully be the key pieces to the puzzle that will get the Celtics over the hump. The two veterans in Thompson and Teague can hopefully mentor young up and comers like Pritchard, Madar, Tacko Fall, and Robert Williams to stardom.