NBA Draft: Notable Picks At No. 16
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Boston Celtics own the 16th overall pick in Thursday's NBA Draft, a pick they aren't too excited to make.
Danny Ainge has made it clear the Celtics, who own four total selections on Thursday night, do not want to add four young players to their roster, and are actively trying to move up in the draft. While there should still be some talent available around the time Boston is scheduled to pick, it's highly unlikely they'll be able to land the impact player Ainge seeks without getting inside the top 10.
But if they remain at 16, there is still some hope. While the pick doesn't have a lengthy history of premiere players, teams do get lucky at that point in the draft.
Here are some success stories to be selected 16th overall, and some that didn't work out so well:
1984 -- John Stockton
The point guard out of Gonzaga had a pretty good career with the Utah Jazz, dishing out an NBA record 15,806 assists during his 19 seasons in the NBA.
1989 -- Dana Barros
The Boston native and four-year BC Eagle was taken by the SuperSonics 16th overall in 1989, and played four seasons in Seattle before being traded to both the Hornets and 76ers in a two-day span in 1993. After a solid two-year run in Philly, which included a 50-point game for Barros, he returned home as a free agent to play for the Celtics.
Barros spent the next five years in green, and was named team co-captain with Antoine Walker for the 1999-2000 season. Barros was solid for the Celtics, mostly off the bench, and averaged 10.1 points and 3.3 assists per game in his first stint with the team.
He was traded to Dallas in a four-team deal in August 2000, and then shipped to Detroit before just prior to the season. Barros returned to Boston late in the 2003-04 season and played one final game in front of his home-town crowd.
1996 -- Tony Delk
Another would-be Celtic was drafted 16th overall in 1996. That year, the New Orleans Hornets took Tony Delk, who was fresh off being named the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player with Kentucky. Delk went on to play 10 seasons in the NBA, including two for Boston from 2001-2003. He was twice traded with Antoine Walker, who was also his college teammate at Kentucky.
1999 -- Ron Artest
Ron Artest a.k.a. Metta World Peace a.k.a. The Panda's Friend was the 16th overall pick by Chicago in 1999, and went on to have a... rather interesting 15-year career in the NBA. A defensive wizard, Artest also had a mean streak, and showed that off one November night in 2004. While he had a solid NBA career, Artest never managed to stay in one spot for long and probably could have been a lot better without all of his antics on the floor.
2002 -- Jiri Welsch
Welsch also found his way onto the Celtics at one point in his brief NBA career, as part of the return Danny Ainge received from Dallas when he traded away Antoine Walker in 2003.
Philadelphia drafted Welsch out of the Czech Republic in 2002 but quickly sent him to Golden State for future picks. The Warriors traded him to Dallas after one year, and two months later Welsch was on the Celtics.
Welsch played 136 games for the Celtics over one-plus seasons, averaging 8.5 points per game. He was traded to the Cavaliers for a first-round pick in 2005, and was out of the league following the 2006 season.
2003 -- Troy Bell
The Celtics drafted Bell with their first of two picks in the 2003 draft, but Ainge quickly traded him (and 20th overall pick Dahntay Jones) to Memphis for point guard Marcus Banks and center Kendrick Perkins. Banks was a bust for the Celtics, and Bell played in just six NBA games in his career.
2007 -- Nick Young
Young has turned into a solid offensive force for the Lakers in recent years. He struggled to find a role with the Washington Wizards after being drafted out of USC, emerging in his fourth and final year with the Wiz, but then bounced around with the Clippers and 76ers before landing with the Lakers.
Young has averaged 16.1 points per game in his two seasons with the Lakers.
2012 -- Royce White
The Houston Rockets drafted White despite knowing about his anxiety disorder, with flying being one of his key triggers. That's kind of a big deal for someone in the NBA, and what followed was a messy relationship between White and the team. Though the two sides tried to figure out a way to accommodated the player's situation, it ultimately ended with White refusing his assignment to the D-League and fingers being pointed at both sides.
White was eventually traded to Philadelphia in the summer of 2013 but was waived before the season. He has since signed with the Sacramento Kings to play in the 2015 summer league.